One Thousand Stars
by starrynight394
Summary: Finally updated with two brand-new chapters! And possibly completed? Please read the author's note in the last chapter and tell me how you think I should proceed.
1. An Innocent Mistake

A Thousand Stars

Rating: PG-13 for some swearing and mild sexual situations

Spoilers: OOTP

A/N (Added 7/1/04): Okay, here's the deal with the story…Harry and his friends are 16/17 and in their 6th year, Ginny is 15/16 and in her 5th year…its Christmas break and everyone is at the Burrow, this includes Percy because in my little world he apologized for being an ass and everyone forgave him (mostly because I wrote this story a while after I read the book and I forgot whether they ever really forgave him). Also in my little world Voldermort is still back but nothing is really happening on that front.

Chapter 1 An Innocent Mistake

When Ginny Weasley was younger, she remembered what it was like to wake up in the middle of the night terrified to go back to sleep. But one of the advantages of growing up with six older brothers meant there was always someone there to comfort her. Whenever she had had a bad dream she usually found her way up to her brother Charlie's room. She had always felt especially close to him and when she would show up he automatically knew what to say to make her feel better. She would lie next to him in bed while he whispered comforting words in her ear until he was sure that she was peacefully asleep.

It had been years since Ginny had a nightmare that warranted the soothing words of her older brother, but ever since the end of her first year at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry her nightmares had returned. She had been getting along just fine until one night; she awoke covered in sweat and found herself walking up the stairs to Charlie's old room. In her half-conscious state Ginny had forgotten that it was Harry Potter, not her brother Charlie, who was lying in the bed under the covers. By force of habit Ginny quietly closed to the door behind her and gently padded over to the bed. She had begun to pull back the covers when Harry's head shot up, starling her and finally waking her up.

"Oh…Merlin, I'm so sorry Harry. Oh, this is so embarrassing…I can't believe I did this..." she stammering on as the color quickly rose in her cheeks.

Harry, quite surprised at his midnight visitor himself was also turning rather red.

_Good thing I decided not to sleep naked tonight. _Harry thought to himself before turning to Ginny to try and quiet her.

 "Ginny, its fine. Really, its okay," He patted the bed beside him and motioned for her to sit down, "What's wrong? What are you doing up in the middle of the night?"

The color had finally begun to fade from her face when she turned to Harry and noticed that the blanket had slipped down to his waist, revealing a tanned muscular chest, causing her to go completely red again.

_Wow…he's certainly…uh…grown up. Boy, I really hope he has something on underneath that blanket. _She thought as her eyes slowly drifted down to where the blanket now sat in his lap.

"Gin…Gin…Ginny, are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Harry's voice startled her and made her jump.

"Oh, well it's stupid really, but…well…"she was quite embarrassed by the whole situation and was finding it increasingly difficult to keep her eyes from drifting downward again.

"Nightmare?" Harry said. Seeing Ginny's eyes well up, he took it as a yes and placed his arm around her shoulder. "It's okay, tonight is the first time in a while that I haven't woken with my scar hurting and everything."

Ginny looked up through her tears before burying her head into Harry's chest. "Oh Harry it was horrible. I was walking back from the library at school when all of a sudden I was back in the Chamber with that horrible snake. And Tom was there…and it was just…." She broke down sobbing, knowing that that wasn't even the worst part. She was almost happy to see Tom again. During her first year he was really her only friend, but she couldn't tell Harry that.

_Damn you Tom…damn you for making me feel this way. You almost killed me yet I still can't get you out of my mind._ She said, cursing him silently.

Taking a deep breath she pulled away from Harry as she spoke softly,

"When I was little and I used to have nightmares I always came up here with Charlie. I guess I was so scared and so tired that I forgot you were staying up here instead of him. I'm sorry for waking you up. I mean you just sad you hardly ever get a good night sleep…" Harry put a finger up to her lips silencing her.

"Its fine Gin, I told you. Now I know I'm no Charlie," he said with a small grin, "But you can stay here as long as you'd like, if that'd make you feel better." He ended giving Ginny's shoulder a small squeeze.

_I can't believe I just said that. _Thought Harry. _What if one of her brothers walked in…what if Ron walked in… I'd be dead. _Realizing that if he had a little sister and he walked in to find her in bed with his very shirtless best friend he would probably flip out too.

"Your right, you're no Charlie but I think you'll do for the time being." Ginny said with a soft smile, her hazel eyes looking up to meet his green ones.

They sat there like that for a few minutes, Ginny leaning back against Harry's chest and Harry's hand eventually moving from Ginny's shoulder down to her waist. Yawning Harry decided that although he didn't want to seem too forward, he would be much more comfortable lying down than sitting awkwardly on the edge of the bed. Ginny seemed to have the same idea, for she had begun to lean backward towards the pillows, pulling Harry down behind her. As she lay down, eyes closed and hair falling around her head like a small halo, Harry was struck be how truly beautiful she looked.

_No, no, no, no. You cannot be thinking this about your best mate's little sister. Especially not when she lying next to you in you bed…oh for Merlin's sake…_his train of thought was interrupted when he felt Ginny shift in front of him and press her back into his front.

Aware that this action could very well illicit a very unwanted response from his body, he risked it by casually draping his arm over her waist, letting his hand rest on her stomach and pulling her even closer. He thought he heard a low moan but didn't know if it had come from him or Ginny.

"Thank you for this Harry. Thank you so much" she breathed heavily, as she inched her foot backwards and underneath his leg, hooking it with her ankle, before they both drifted off to sleep.


	2. The Wrath Of An Older Brother

Disclaimer: Same as before.

A/N: There's a little bit of language in this chapter, so if this kind of thing offends you, I apologize.

*Chapter 2*  The Wrath Of An Older Brother

"What the hell is going on in here? What the fuck do you think you're doing to my little sister?"  

Harry was suddenly awoken when a large pair of hands ripped him out of bed and began shaking him violently. 

"What the fuck are you doing naked in my bed with my sister?" Harry was having trouble focusing on exactly who was yelling at him as he did not have his glasses on.

"Accio glasses." He said, putting them on after they reached his hands and turning to his assailant. 

"Oh, fuck. Uh…Charlie what are you doing home so early? I…uh…well…we….uh…I can explain everything…" He continued stammering on, silently hoping that Charlie would wait and hear him out before he knocked the living shit out of him.

_I can't believe I was so stupid. I should have stayed awake and taken Ginny back to her room. But I just couldn't help it, she looked to peaceful lying there. Oh Merlin, never mind waiting for Voldermort to return…Charlie is gonna kill me now._

"Harry we treated you like fucking family man, and this is how you repay us? By sleeping with our little sister? What the hell…" Charlie was interrupted by a rather loud yawning noise coming from his bed. 

Ginny slowly opened her eyes and took in her surroundings before panic set in.

_Oh shit. I must have fallen asleep in here last night. Wait, what the hell is Charlie doing here? Why is he holding Harry like that? Oh no…he must have walked in and saw us lying here…_

Her entire face turned the brightest shade of red that a face could turn as she tried to sputter out a response.

"Charlie, we didn't do anything, I swear! I had a nightmare last night and I was just up here talking about it with Harry. We fell asleep, nothing happened…" She was cut off by a voice from downstairs.

"Oi, Charlie is that you? Are you back early or something?" The three heard Ron shout from the lower floor.

_Oh please don't let Ron come up the steps and see us like this. _Harry thought._ He will never forgive if he thinks I did something with his sister. Please Charlie think of something to say._

Charlie glared at Harry, as if to say 'you say one word and I will personally take your neck and wring the life out of it until you can't tell the difference between you and a pile of lime green jello' before walking to the door and shouting out,

"Yea Ron, I'll be down in a minute. I just wanted to drop some stuff off in my room first."

Charlie turned to Ginny and Harry, who had started to take a seat on the bed next to her until he noticed Charlie shooting daggers at him before quickly scooting to the other end of the bed.

"Ginny I want you to go back to your room right now. Stay there for a few minutes before going down to breakfast. Tell Ron I'll be down soon and for Merlin's sake, fix yourself up." He stated very calmly, gesturing to her hair, which had become quite a mess overnight.

"Charlie, I told you it was nothing. Please don't do anything to Harry, if anything this is my fault. I'm the one that came up here and fell asleep." She said before quietly slipping out the door and down the hall. 

Charlie closed the door behind him and took a seat next to Harry on the bed. He was staring a small picture on his bookshelf on the other side of the room when he began talking.

"Harry…I'm sorry for assuming that you and my sister did anything. I trust that you would never do anything to hurt Ginny, but you have to understand where I'm coming from. Ginny's not only the youngest child, but also only girl. After what happened her first year we've all been pretty protective of her. Plus, you know how she felt about you…about how she probably still does, and I just don't want to see her get her heart broken, you know?" He said, turning his head to face Harry, who seemed to be very interested in a small spot on the floor between his legs.

"I know you would never purposefully do anything like that," Charlie continued, "… but if you care about her at all, you need to tell her exactly how you feel, either way."

            Harry tore his gaze away from the floor and turned to meet Charlie's eyes.

"I would never to do anything that I thought would hurt Gin. She's my friend; one of my closest. We've gotten a lot closer in the past few months, you know with DA and everything. I promise I'll talk to her after breakfast. Just to make sure everything is okay between us." 

            "Good. I know I'm being the typical big brother, but she really does deserve only the best. Although I have to say, if you do decide to pursue anything with Ginny, I can't think of any other guy who would be as worthy of her love as you," Charlie stood up and walked across the room before he turned back to Harry.

 "But if I catch you in bed with my sister again…she'd better damn sight well have a ring on her finger, because it would really upset me to have to kill the man my sister loved in front of her." He finished, ending with a grin.

            "Thanks man." Harry replied, standing up to join Charlie, who proceeded to pull him into a weird, sort of awkward man hand shake-hug-pat on the back. Charlie opened the door as Harry grabbed a t-shirt from the chair and joined him in the hallway before they went down to breakfast.


	3. Breakfast With The Weasleys

Disclaimer: Hold on, let me check…wait…nope still don't own the characters.

A/N: Sorry this took so long, but I just started back with school, and my computer broke and it was all just bad, but I want to thank everyone who reviewed my story. It's reassuring to know that people can actually tolerate my writing. Also to clear up any confusion, the beginning of this story is supposed to be taking place on winter break. That's why Charlie is back and Harry is staying with the Weasley's….blah, blah, blah…now, on to Chapter 3.

            *Breakfast with the Weasleys*

            _Oh Merlin, I hope I didn't get Harry in too much trouble with Charlie. Damn it, I knew I should have just left. Now Charlie's probably threatened Harry and scared him so bad that he'll be afraid to come within twenty feet of me. Oh well, it could be worse. Ron could have walked in on us…_

Suddenly Ginny's head was filled with images of exactly what Ron would do if he had been the one to walk in on Harry and her. Ginny shook her head, trying to erase the pictures from her mind as she sat down at the kitchen table.

            "Sleep late enough Gin?" Fred asked her as she took her seat.

            "Yes, perhaps our ickle Ginnikins was up late last night dreaming about a certain handsome, green-eyed, raven haired Adonis. One who just happens to be sleeping right above her..." George was abruptly cut off when a rather hard biscuit came flying from across the table and hit him in the ear. 

            "Getting a little testy there aren't you? Could it be because what our dear brother is saying is true?" Fred chided before ducking under the table to avoid an orange that Ginny had lobed at him.

            "Boys stop teasing your little sister, and Ginny stop throwing food. It's not good manners and we have a guest." Molly Weasley voice rang out as she walked into the kitchen, followed by Charlie and Harry.

            "Mom, it's just Harry. He's as good as a part of our family, you need to stop acting like he's one of those ancient walking corpses that works with Dad at the Ministry who comes and visits for dinner." Ron joined in the conversation as he made his way down the steps.

            Mrs. Weasley just shook her head and walked over to the stove where a ladle was busy pouring pancake mix into a pan and a spatula was busy flipping done pancakes onto a plate. 

            Charlie, Harry, and Ron all took their seats at the table. Ron slid in the chair on Ginny's right and Harry took the seat on her left.

"Morning Gin." He said as sat down, giving her a small smile.

            _Why is he smiling? I wonder what Charlie said to him up there? Thought Ginny, _I hope Charlie didn't say something stupid like he thinks I'm still in love with him or something. Sweet Merlin, why the hell can't anybody get past that and realize that I have grown up!!__

            "Good morning Harry." Ginny replied. 

            "We were just talking about you Harry. You look at little tired, did you have any visitors last night?" Fred said as he rose up from under the table.

            Luckily everyone was too busy laughing at Fred's comment to notice that both Harry and Ginny's heads shot up when the heard "late night visit."

Ginny glanced over to her left and meet a very blushing Harry. __

_            Damnit, did one of those two see us last night? Or did they hear Charlie this morning? Oh sweet Gods, if they didn't suspect anything before they certainly will now. _Ginny thought, knowing that the red on her face rivaled, if not surpassed, the red on Harry's.

            Harry gave her a small smile and turned back to where Fred was high-fiving George. 

            "Well Fred, I can see how you would think that being that you've had so many 'late night visits' yourself. Wasn't that Angelina I saw coming out of the boy's dorm last week before we left? Or maybe that was…" Harry was cut off when Fred began coughing loudly.

            "I don't know what you're talking about Harry. Maybe she was going to see Jordan or someone. But it certainly wasn't me." Fred gave a nervous laugh and looked to where his mother was standing with a scowl on her face across the room. 

            By this time Harry, Ginny, Ron, George, and Charlie were all cracking up. Even Mrs. Weasley allowed herself a grin when she saw the bright red shade her son was turning as he continued to try and defend himself.

            "Honest, I have no clue what you mean. Maybe she was looking for some help with Quiddich or…" he continued blabbing on, oblivious to the fact that the rest of his family was practically rolling around on the floor.

            "My dear brother, methinks you doth protest too much." Ginny said, while trying to catch her breath from laughing so hard. 

            "What's going on in here? What are we all laughing about?" Percy asked as he and his fiancé Penelope walked into the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley had to conjure up another chair, as all the ones at the table were full. 

            As Percy and Penelope sat down, Ginny looked around the table.

            _Wow, a few more people and it would look just like the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall at breakfast. Nothing like the holidays to turn a decent house into a freaking zoo. _

For the table was quite full; Mrs. Weasley, Ron, George, Fred, Percy, Penelope, Charlie, Harry and Ginny were all clambering to get food, laughing at Fred… 

Her father had had to go into work and Bill and Fleur weren't expected to arrive until the evening, so dinner that evening was sure to be even more hectic. 

            "Hey, Gin? Can I talk to you for a second?" Ginny's head snapped back around as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

            "Oh, sure Harry. By the way, Charlie didn't do anything or threaten anything when he talked to you earlier, did he? Cause I can talk to him, tell him it was all a misunderstanding…" Ginny trailed off seeing Harry shake his head.

            "No, no…everything is fine Ginny. But do you think we can talk somewhere a little more private than the kitchen table?" He said, gesturing around at the rest of her family, who were still laughing and carrying on miscellaneous conversation with one another.

            "Um, okay. Do you wanna go for a walk outside or something?" Ginny asked.

            "That would be good. Why don't you go grab your coat and everything and I'll just meet you out there? No point in drawing anymore attention to our little meetings, is there? I don't need another talk from one of your other brothers." Harry said laughing. 

"Alright, I've got to go get my stuff, but I'll meet you out there in a little while." Ginny told him. She stood up and excused herself before taking her plate to the sink and heading off to her room.__


	4. My Happy Place

Disclaimer: Same as before, still don't own anything…oh wait, I am the proud owner of a $25 parking ticket. If you want it you can gladly have that.

A/N: I know it's taking a while to get these chapters out, and I really do have the rest of the story in my head. It's just taking me an absurdly long time to type them out. I apologize and give you a slightly longer chapter this time…can you forgive me?

            *My Happy Place*

            Ginny walked up to her room to grab a coat before she had to go out back. Remembering that it had just snowed, she also kicked off her shoes in favor of a heavy pair of boots. She walked down the steps and walked through the living room to the front door, effectively avoiding the rest of her family; they were still talking in the kitchen. She grabbed her scarf and hat and walked out the door.

Going around the back of her house, she started out to the edge of the woods, periodically checking behind her to make sure no one had followed her out of the house. Once she had reached the trees she paused and pulled out her wand. 

_Okay, now what was that spell Hermonie taught me…setting a trail for others to follow? It was based on some muggle story, the one where the candy house and the little kids getting eaten?  _Ginny racked her brain trying to think of the right words. 

"Oh that's right. Trailius Crumbulus." She said, pointing her wand at the ground. She took a few steps forward and looked back to make sure it had worked. Sure enough, a small trail of bread crumbs was beginning to form after her. Ginny continued walking along the path besides the trees until she reached her old tree house.

Her parents had been warning her about the state of the tree house for years. It had been built for Bill when he was young, and after going though six older brothers, the wear and tear made it a pretty sore sight. Regardless of the looming threat of possibly falling and being trapped by the collapsing structure, Ginny visited the tree house quite regularly. It was nice and quiet, away from all the commotion of the Burrow. Plus, no one ever thought to look for her out here, so she never had to worry about anyone startling her. 

The small wooden platform-just a floor because there were no walls left-had seen many different moods from Ginny. She'd been there crying because she felt left out when her brothers would organize and game of Quiddich and not let her play. She had lain out in the sun, deliriously happy after the first time Harry had come to the Burrow. After her ordeal in her first year, she'd spent many hours out here wondering why she was so weak and why she had kept writing in that stupid journal. She'd considered bringing Harry out to her little hideaway when he came to visit the Burrow after the Triwizard Tournament, since she felt that he would probably appreciate a little peace and quiet, away from all the questions about Voldermort and Cedric. 

_I wonder why he was all weird at breakfast, all "let's talk 'somewhere private'". What does he have to tell me that is so secretive? Merlin…what if he wants to tell me he loves me!!! That would explain why he doesn't want my brothers around. No, no, no, it can't be that...well, he was acting pretty cozy with me last night. Oh gods, what am I going to do? I'll just explain to him…if that is what he's going to say.  _Ginny thought nervously. 

_Wait, I don't want to upset him though. I know he's probably feeling pretty down now._

This was Harry's first Christmas without Sirius, and Ginny knew that even though they had only spent one together before, it was still probably tearing him up inside. 

_I wish the stupid prat would just open up his eyes and realize that even though Sirius is gone he still has us. I know he tries to put on a 'happy face' for everyone, but sometimes I see him. The real him…he's got a smile on, but his eyes give him away. They look so sad and lonely. Hell, I should know, I've seen the look a hundred times; looking in the mirror._

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a hand grab her ankle, causing her to jump and kick out with her foot. 

"Bloody hell Gin, what a way to welcome someone. That's quite a kick you got there." Harry pulled himself up the rest of the ladder and sat down, rubbing the spot where Ginny's foot had connected with his shoulder.

"Oh god, Harry, I'm so sorry! I was kinda spacing out and then felt someone grab my foot…are you okay?" She leaned over him and began fussing over his injured arm.

"It's fine Ginny. I've suffered much worse than that on the Quiddich pitch, well, maybe not much worse." He said, laughing when he saw the look of embarrassment on Ginny's face. She punched him lightly on his other arm before turning back around with a huff, which only made Harry laugh more.

"You know, I think you've got some violence issues to work out. You seem to have a lot of pent up anger, we need to get you back on a broom for some Quiddich practice girl." 

Ginny had to agree with him there and she began to laugh too. The Gryffindor team, on which Ginny become a Chaser in the beginning of her fifth year, hadn't had practice since the end of October.

"Sounds like a good idea. Maybe we can organize a game later, if it's not too cold." Harry nodded in agreement and pulled his legs up closer to his body. Unlike Ginny, he had forgotten to change into his boots and his shoes were now thoroughly soaked from walking through the snow. Ginny noticed this and pulled out her wand.

"Here, let me dry those off for you. It's my fault. How were you to know that I was going to drag you all the way out here." She aimed her wand at his feet and said the drying spell.

"Thanks Gin. It's my fault for forgetting my wand. I…uh…kinda knew you were gonna come out here." He said sheepishly, giving her a little grin.

"What do you mean? Nobody knows about this place. Or at least nobody remembers it. How do you know about it?" 

"Oh, I…um…Hermonie and I were trying to teach Ron this muggle game called football this past summer. Evidently that leg you've got runs in the family, 'cause Ron kept kicking the ball back into the woods. Hermonie started shouting at Ron, saying he wasn't concentrating enough on direction or some asinine thing, you know how they are." Ginny smiled and nodded her head.

"Anyway, I went off to try and find the ball when I saw you walking back from this clearing. After you left I came over here…and I found the tree house. I figured that's where you always came when you disappeared from the Burrow. I never followed you though; I didn't want to disturb you. It's nice and quiet out here, seems like a good place to sit and just get away from it all." He ended quietly.

Ginny looked over at the handsome young man sitting beside her and felt the overwhelming need to comfort him.  She reached out and placed her hand on top of his.

"You wouldn't have bothered me Harry. It would have been nice, you know, to be out here alone but not really alone? Does that make any sense?" She shook her head in her self-induced confusion. 

The two sat in silence for a few moments before Ginny finally spoke again.

            "So what are we doing out here anyway?" She asked him.

            "Oh right. I wanted to talk to you about last night actually." Harry saw an odd combination of embarrassment, uncertainty…and…hope?

            _She is over me, isn't she? I mean…she couldn't still have feelings for me. Wasn't she seeing Seamus over the summer? No, no, we're just friends. What happened last night was just one friend comforting another…right?_

            Harry hesitated before speaking again. "Yeah, last night…I just wanted to make sure you know…" 

            "Does this have something to do with what Charlie said to you this morning?" Ginny cut him off. He could see the flame of anger that Ron always talked about start to boil behind her eyes.  

"That stupid prat should stay the hell out of other people's business. What does he care if he found me in bed with some guy? I thought he knew me better than that. I'm not some whore who just goes falling into random guys' beds...." she made a move towards to the ladder, but Harry caught her arm before she could descend.

"Hey, calm down, Charlie's just looking out for you. He knows how you used to feel about me, and you've become such a beautiful girl…he just wants to make sure you don't get hurt. I told him that was a long time ago; that you're over me and that we're just friends now. He just wanted to make sure everything was okay between us."

A couple of deep breaths later Ginny's face returned to its normal color and she scooted back away from the edge. 

"I know he's just playing the 'protective older brother' role, but it really pisses me off…the entire family knows we're just good friends. If anything they should be worrying about what'll happen between Hermonie and Ron when she gets here tomorrow. It's only a matter of time before we find those two snogging in a closet somewhere." Even with her heavy coat and scarf on, the winter air was beginning to work its way through the layers, making Ginny shiver.

"Well, if that's all you wanted, can we head in now? I'm starting to get cold." She said, moving to the ladder. 

"Yea, it is pretty cold out here. Do you think it'll snow again?" He asked her as he climbed down the ladder. 

"I hope so. I love snow; I'm such a little kid though. I still love to go out back, make snow angels, try to catch the flakes on my tongue, have a snowball fight with the twins." Ginny laughed as she jumped off the last rung and hit the ground. They worked their way through the trees and eventually the Burrow came into view.

"We should walk around to the front. Who knows what Charlie will think if he sees us walking out of the woods together. Probably that we were romping around out in the forest…" She said when they reached the edge of the yard. 

Ginny started walking towards the house, but Harry stepped in front of her, blocking her path. 

"Who cares what Charlie thinks? Or any of your other brothers for that matter. We're friends; we should be able to spend time alone together without worrying what anyone is gonna say." With that, Harry reached out and took Ginny's small mittened hand in his large gloved one. They headed for the kitchen door with the heads up and eyes facing forward; neither could see the smile that had spread across the other ones face.


	5. I Will Survive

Disclaimer: Uggg...if I owned these characters I could afford to go back to Blockbuster and pay my late fine. I also don't own the song…it'd be pretty cool if I did. I would make a shitload of money off of the royalties. I think there may be a law stating that every karaoke machine ever made must have this song on it. 

A/N: Woo hoo, another chapter down. Yay for me. It's a bit shorter than I'd like, but with all the lovely weather we've been having here the past few days (I'm pretty sure it's thundering once again as I type this) it has been kinda screwy.  Anyway, I want to thank everyone who clicks on that lovely purplish button at the bottom and leaves me a review. Also, I want to thank my beta Stacy *we miss you up in the sticks!!!!* On to chapter five!

            *I Will Survive*

            "Ginny dear, would you please come down and help me with dinner?" Mrs. Wesley walked into her daughter's room and found her lying on her bed reading. Ginny dog-eared the page she was on; ignoring what Hermonie had told her when she lent her the book, and sat up. 

            "Sure Mom, hey are Bill and Fleur here yet?" She asked as they walked down the stairs. 

            "No…I just received an owl from Bill saying they would be a little later than they thought. But he assured me they would be here for dinner. He says they have a very important announcement to make." Her mother replied giddily. From her mother's giggles Ginny could only venture a vague guess as to what would have her mother so excited.

            _Oh, I don't know what their 'special announcement' could be? About bloody time someone decided to give mom the grandchild she's always been wanting. Maybe she'll finally stop suffocating me and start lavishing attention on someone that is actually a baby, not someone who is almost 16!_

For as much as Ginny loved her mother, she had a habit of being a bit overwhelming at times. The two women began bustling around the kitchen, preparing dinner; it was, after all, a lot of work to fix enough food for thirteen people, four of which were teenage boys! 

            A short while later the potatoes were boiling, the bread was baking, the turkey was roasting and Ginny and her mother were dancing around the kitchen, singing along with a song that was playing over the muggle radio her father had brought home. 

            "At first I was afraid I was petrified. Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side. But then I spent so many nights thinking how you did me wrong. And I grew strong and I learned how to get along. And now your back, from outta space. I just walked in to find you here with that sad look upon your face. I should have changed that stupid lock I should have made you leave your key  
If I'd have known for just one second you'd be back to bother me…"  
  


            By the time the chorus came around, Ginny had a spoon in her hand as a psuedomicrophone, and Mrs. Weasley was dancing in a matter than would have mortified Ginny, had they been in public somewhere. Neither one of them noticed the footsteps coming down the stairs, or the two boys that had paused at the bottom.

            Harry and Ron stood on the bottom step, eyes taking in the scene before them.

            "Do you think they've been eating some bad food? Because I believe they've gone mad." Ron stated as he watched his mother and sister jump up on the table and start their own little kickline. 

            Harry on the other hand, watching Ginny up on the table, laughing and dancing, the curls in her hair bouncing as she jumped around, didn't think they looked crazy at all. On the contrary, he thought she looked quite stunning. It wasn't until he felt Ron pull him towards the kitchen that he realized he'd been staring at her.

            _Merlin, I hope Ron didn't catch that little momentary lapse in judgment. Why was I staring at her like that? Well…she is gorgeous…and that smile…I haven't seen her that carefree in a while…no, no…don't think about that. Your just friends, didn't we just go over this this morning?_

"Come on mate, let's go join them. Shall we? See if we can't embarrass them a bit?" Ron said, as they made their way into the room. 

            "Oh no not I, I will survive. Oh as long as I know how to love I know I'll stay alive. I've got all my life to live I've got all my love to give. I will survive…I will survive…AAAAAACKKKKK! Don't' do that…put me down!" Ginny shouted as Ron grabbed her legs and picked her up, tossing her over his shoulder before spinning around and setting her on the floor.  

            Harry turned to help Mrs. Weasley down and was surprised when Mrs. Weasley took his hand in hers and began trying to spin him around as well. Ginny smiled in amusement when she saw the look of fright on Harry's face as her mother whirled him around the room.

            He saw her standing over by the counter laughing as she checked up on the turkey and mouthed the words 'Help me' which only made her laugh harder. Mrs. Weasley saw the interaction and pulled closer to his ear.

            "Why don't you go grab her and give her a spin, dear." She smiled and let go of him, watching him cross the room. Ron came up beside and took hold of her elbow, and they started dancing again as Harry approached Ginny.

            "Harry James Potter, how dare you two stand there and watch us make completes arses out of ourselves. Oh no…don't come any closer. No…I have to check the potatoes…" The spoon clattered to the ground as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back out to where Mrs. Weasley was twirling in circles with Ron. 

            "You know, you could have at least coughed or something up on the steps. How long were you watching us? Do you know how embarrassing that was?" Ginny said as her ears began to turn red, although she wasn't sure if it was from the dancing fiasco or the fact that Harry had just pulled her arms up wrap around his neck.

            "Come on Gin, you looked like you were having fun up there. Had a lot of experience table dancing have you?" Harry said grinning, enjoying watching Ginny try to fight back the blush that was rising up her face.

            "I most certainly have not. And even if I did, it would be none of your business. Now wipe that smirk off your face Mr. Potter." She huffed, but took one look at Harry and burst out laughing, not able to keep her straight face any longer. 

            The song finally ended and everyone made their way back to the table, except Mrs. Weasley who had noticed the potatoes boiling over and went to go clean up the mess.

            "You know Gin, you really did look good up there, and your voice…wow…have you ever considered becoming one of those pop stars after school?" Not fond of the sarcasm in Ron's comment, she smacked him on the head as she headed over to help her mother finish cooking. 

            "Real funny Ron. I hope you both enjoyed that little show." 

            "Oh, we did Ginny dear. Any chance of another performance later on?" He said as he and Harry got up to leave. 

            "Ha ha ha. Maybe if you're lucky I can convince Hermonie to join me for a little number. You'd like that wouldn't ya?" She joked, laughing as she gave him the finger and saw his back stiffen at the mention of Hermonie, who was also coming to join the family for dinner that evening. 

            _It's only a matter of time…but if it happens any time tonight or tomorrow I'll win the pot back at school. What's it up to now?? 50 galleons?? Ginny thought, referring to the bet that everyone had made back at school before winter break. Over half of Gryffindor had placed a few galleons on which day they thought Ron and Hermonie would finally hook up. Most had chosen Christmas Eve or Christmas day, but Ginny placed her money on the 21st or 22nd. _

            Ginny spent a few more minutes in the kitchen tidying up before taking off her apron and placing it back on the rack.

"Hey mom, I'm gonna go clean up before dinner. Do you need any more help in here?" Ginny asked.

            "Oh no dear, if I need any more help I'll call one of the boys. You go get yourself ready." Her mother replied. Ginny hopped up the steps and flung open the door to her room. 

            _Damn, this place is a mess. It looks like some bloke's room. I should probably straighten up before Hermonie gets here. She thought as she surveyed the ungodly mess that was her room. Instead of grabbing her wand off the bureau, Ginny decided to walk around and clean things up without the assistance of magic. She folded up clothes, tossed her shoes back in the closet and made her bed; until she was convinced her room looked no longer looked like it belonged to a fourteen year old boy. _

            As she passed her mirror she heard a soft giggle, causing her to turn around and face her reflection. The full length mirror had been charmed so that a person's reflection would talk back to them, giving them compliments, suggestions or occasionally rude and obscene comments. 

            "Girl, it looks like somebody could use a shower. What happened? Was it raining flour?" The reflection in the mirror started giggling again, but Ginny had to agree with it. 

            H_ow the hell did I get flour all over me? Was Mom even using flour for anything? As if I wasn't pale enough to begin with, I look like the bloody undead…oh sweet Merlin…as if the dancing wasn't horrible enough, Harry had to see me like this…wait why do I care what Harry thinks I look like? Well, it's only a natural response I suppose; after all, I was obsessed with what he thought of me for nearly four years. Old habits are hard to break…_

Ginny shrugged the memory of her sad obsession off as she undressed, wrapped a towel around herself, gathered her things and headed off for the bathroom. Walking down the hallway she frowned, realizing that this would probably be the only time for the next few days where she wouldn't have to fight for the bathroom or have to hurry up once she was inside. 

            _Better savoir this time while I have it. Whatever possessed Mom to invite everyone to stay here for Christmas, when they can just as easily apparate or floo home for the night. Merlin, why'd she have to have so many kids to begin with?_

Ginny-who had begun mentally cursing her parents for not being able to keep their hands off each other, which created a very disturbing picture in her head causing her to curse herself- could not hear the sound of running water as she approached the bathroom door. She grasped the knob and turned…


	6. RubADubDub

Disclaimer: Boy is this getting annoying. I don't own these characters; the only thing I own is the plot.

A/N: GGRRRRR…I remember I saw some comedian talking about computers one time. It was about how some days your computer will just up and go "Hey, I don't feel like working today. Guess your shit outta luck!" Well that's what my computer did to me when I tried to type this. It ate half of what I already had typed so the first part of this chapter is basically crap, but that's just my opinion. I swear what I originally had was a lot better. Stupid computer…anyway, I apologize for the delay. 

            *Rub-A-Dub-Dub*

She grasped the knob and turned…

"Oh my god, Harry…oh, I'm so sorry. Oh gods, I swear I didn't see anything" Ginny's hand flew up to cover her eyes and her head spun around so fast she was surprised her neck didn't snap.

            _Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. I just saw Harry Potter naked. The Boy-Who-Lived in all his glory. What am I supposed to do now? Just pretend it never happened? Forget it? Oh, but there's no way I could forget that…all those years of Quiddich and DADA have certainly paid off nicely._

            For the moment Ginny walked in the door, Harry had been stepping out of the shower, wearing nothing but the smile on his face.            

            Even though she was facing a corner, Ginny knew that the red of her face was probably reflecting off the walls and illuminating the entire room. Not only had she walking in on Harry, but donning only a towel, wasn't wearing much more herself.

            "Uh, Gin? Do you think you could hand me a towel. You're kinda blocking the closet." She heard him call from behind.

            She reached into the closer and grabbed a towel off the shelf. She was already turning to hand it to him before she   remembered their 'situation'. Luckily for Ginny, Harry had wrapped himself in the shower curtain, preventing her from seeing anything again. 

            He took the towel but didn't retreat from his curtain refuge. Ginny thought she saw his eyes slowly wander down her body, but quickly dismissed the idea.

            "You mind giving me a little privacy here?" He said, nodding towards the door.

            "Oh, yea, sure. I'll just come back when you've finished." Ginny turned back around and made a beeline for the door, silently hoping that he wasn't staring at her ass as she walked away.

            She reached the door and turned the knob, not waiting for the door to actually open before she started walking. Her body hit the door with a loud thump and broke her out of her daze. 

            "Gods, Ginny, are you alright?" Harry hurried up beside her, having securely wrapped the towel around his waist. 

"Yea, I'm fine. I'll be going now." She muttered and turned back to the door, trying to hide her embarrassment. She tried turning the knob this time, but found it to be jammed. She continued banging and pulling on the door, but was still unsuccessful.

            "Here, let me give it a try." Harry said, as he stepped up next to her. He fiddled with the handle and gave the door a few forceful shoves with his shoulder.

            "You wouldn't happen to have your wand with, would you?" He asked, rubbing his arm. Ginny shook her head and grabbed the door again.

            "Why don't we both try together? Two people have to be better than one." He suggested. Harry walked up and they attempted once again to open the door. Unfortunately with two sets of hands, neither could get a firm grasp on the handle and they gave up after a few minutes. Sitting in silence they both tried to think of ways to get out. Suddenly Ginny came up with an idea.

            "What if I get a good hold on the doorknob and you helped pull from behind? Do you think that'll work?" She asked him. Harry shrugged; after all, it was worth a try.

            "Okay, on the count of three." Harry said as he wrapped his arms around Ginny's waist. As he did this, Ginny prayed to every god or saint that she had ever heard of that her towel would stay up.

            "One."

            "Two."

            "Three."

There was a loud crash as the door opened causing both Harry and Ginny to fly backwards. Ginny felt her legs slip out from under her as the rug underneath her feet slid forward, sending her crashing back into Harry. They hit the edge of the bathtub and Harry, in an attempt to keep them from falling, lunged for the shower curtain. Unfortunately all this succeeded in doing was pulling the curtain down around them as they crashed into the tub; a twisted up, tangled mess of curtains, limbs and towels.

"My, my, my, what do we have here?" Came a voice from the figure standing in the hallway. Ginny struggled to unwrap the shower curtain from around her and managed to pop her head over the rim of the tub.

"Bill…you're here early. How was your trip?"

One thing 30 year old Bill Weasley did not expect to see when he arrived home for Christmas holiday was his little sister, wearing nothing but a towel, wrapped in the arms of a strange man in the bathtub. Strange, that was, until he realized who it was.

"Christ…Harry…is that you?" Bill asked as he saw another head emerge from the jumble of curtains. Harry looked up and smiled sheepishly at him, giving him a small wave.

_Oh gods, not again. If I keep getting caught in compromising situations with Ginny, her family's gonna kick me out. That's all I need, to have all her brothers think I'm sexually harassing their sister in the bathroom. At least he seems a bit calmer than Charlie was…_

"Hiya Bill? How's Fleur doing? Good I hope," he said as he slowly began to untangle himself, getting up and extending a hand to help Ginny.

Ginny took his hand and stepped out of the tub, turning to face her oldest brother, trying her hardest to keep the blush to a minimum. As she made sure her towel was still wrapped tightly around her, she heard the sound muffled laughter.

"Do you think this is funny, you stupid prat? Did Fred and George put you up to this? If I find out you were out there holding that door I will hex you so bad I assure you, Mom will have to wait for one of her other children to get married and produce her first grandchild." Her face was still red, but it was no longer from embarrassment, rather from anger.

"I was simply passing by when I heard you bang on the door; I know how it gets stuck sometimes. I was just trying to help out. How was I to know you'd be in here with Harry? Let me give you a little advice Gin, next time you want to try to get some 'alone time' with your boyfriend, I'd suggest putting a silencing charm or lock..." A blur of red suddenly streaked across the room as Ginny charged at her brother.

"HOW MANY TIMES DO WE HAVE TO TELL YOU ALL? WE'RE FRIENDS! CAN'T YOU GET IT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULLS? THERE IS NO ATTRACTION HERE! NOW GET OUT!" Ginny was accentuating each stressed word by hitting her brother in the chest, pushing him back out the door.   
  


"Okay, okay…" Ginny slammed the door shut in his face before he could finish his apology.

Ginny let out a groan of frustration and sat down on the side of the tub. Harry, not knowing quite what to do and also being slightly afraid of her, hesitated before he spoke.

"Uh, Gin. If everything is okay here, I'm just gonna head on out," He pointed over to the door, waiting for a response.

"Yea, everything is fine. Listen, I really am sorry about walking in on you…" She was trying to be serious, but as soon as she thought about that moment she had to fight back a giggle. She obviously was doing a poor job of it, as Harry noticed and starting laughing as well.

"I suppose it's only fair. After all, Ron and I did kinda embarrass you this morning. Albeit you were fully clothed," 

"Um…excuse me? If you haven't noticed I'm wearing a towel. That's hardly 'fully clothed'. Plus your brother didn't walk in and accuse you of messing around in a bath tub." Ginny continued talking for a few moments but Harry wasn't really paying attention.

_How could I NOT notice that's all you're wearing. If your brother hadn't walked in when he did I might have had to show you how much I didn't notice…okay I should leave. Right now. _He was laughing along with Ginny, but his mind was elsewhere. _I should defiantly go…_

"You know what? We should probably go. I'm sure you want get ready. Dinner will be ready soon, and you'll probably want to take a shower, fix your hair…"

"Are you implying that I do not look smashing as is? That I need fancy clothes and make-up to look good?" Ginny said jokingly. 

_Gods no._ You look gorgeous just the way you are, but I'm sure your family wouldn't appreciate what I would do to you if you went down like that…why am I thinking this? Seriously Potter, stop thinking about Gin that way. You heard her, no attraction. She doesn't like you like that…but she certainly was staring an awful lot. __

For that is exactly what Ginny had been doing for the past few minutes, her eyes slowly drifting down his body; his eyes, his chest, his arms…

_Girl, get your self together. He's gonna notice you staring. And you just went on that whole rant about how you're over him. Eyes…keep it on the eyes. Oh fuck, he needs to leave so I can take a shower, a cold one._

Harry spoke again, causing her eyes to fly back up to meet with his.

"I'm didn't mean to imply anything. You look beautiful; I just didn't think you'd want to go to dinner covered in flour. Hey, were you guys even using flour? I don't remember seeing any down there?" He had a confused look on his face, but shrugged it away.

"Anyways, I'll be leaving then. Um, I'll see you at dinner." He gave a small nod and walked past her, out the door and down the hall. 

As Ginny turned on the water, preparing to wash off the lovely flour-water-paste mix that had formed on her face when she had fallen into the tub, only one thing was on her mind.

_He said I looked beautiful.  _

_                                                ***************************_

A/N 2: I know in a lot of the other fanfics I've read the authors do this, so I figured I would take a little time and do it as well. So, many thanks to those who reviewed the last few chapters: 

**MarkoQuill**; **Aniangel – I'm sorry…I know that this kind of thing has probably happened in other stories, but right before I started this chapter my brother walked in on my friend and I doing essentially the same thing, so I decided to add it in the story; ****Lavender Brown – Thanks! I don't have a real big family, so I was pretty much guessing on how crazy it is in a full household; ****Justine – Of course the Harry would be in the bathroom, I know it's completely predictable but I did it none the less; **brittbrat123; I sHoW nO sHaMe; PoTtErSPaYnE; liort ; alyrios; Cheez dude **– I don't mean to torture…I blame it on the weather! And my faulty computer; **Zara******; Niphler – I know I have a tendency to overuse certain words in my vocabulary and I apologize, usually my beta catches these things. And to answer your questions a) I'm just assuming that with all of the people living at the Burrow the Ministry just looks over it and b) there will be more tree house chats, hopefully; **Muddles**; **Bookworym******; Caitlin; Bebe; Angel; SkysTheLimit.**

Thank you so much for leaving reviews!!! It's nice to know people like my writing.


	7. In Which There Is a Bet and an Announcem...

A/N: I know, I know…it's taken me forever to get this chapter out, but with midterms and a birthday I was kinda busy. Plus I had a wicked case of writers block. The next two chapters were originally supposed to be one chapter, but they were kinda big so I split them into two.

I also must apologize for the horrendous crimes against commas that I commit in this chapter. My beta recently moved away L *wipes away tear* I blame my elementary school teachers for never teaching me proper grammar. 

            *In Which There Is a Bet and an Announcement*

            Wrapping a towel around her hair, Ginny opened the door to make sure there was no one in the hallway; she didn't need anymore people seeing her wearing just a towel. Making sure the coast was clear she walked down the hall to her bedroom, jumping back once she had opened the door.

            "Ginny! Your mother said she thought you were still in the shower, so she told me to just bring my stuff up." Hermonie ran up, giving her friend a hug. As Ginny moved into the room the two girls continued talking, until Hermonie brought up the subject of Harry.

            "Hey Hermonie, you haven't actually talked to Harry yet have you?" Ginny was curious as to if he or Bill would mention the little bathroom incident. Hermonie shook her head no.

            "I haven't seen Ron yet either, I was just going to go check his room. Care to join me?" She asked.

            "Sure, just give me a minute to get dressed and do something to my hair." Hermonie hurried out of the room and Ginny threw on an old pair of jeans and a tank top. She braided her hair into two small pigtails and left to go find the boys with Hermonie.

            After finding Ron's room empty, the two girls went downstairs and found them sitting in the living room talking with Bill and Charlie. 

            "So where's Fleur at Bill? Mom said you two have a big announcement to make…she didn't get knocked up did she?" They could hear Ron ask before they even entered the room. 

            "Ronald Weasley, you watch your mouth. Honestly, do you really have to be so rude and crass?" Hermonie scolded him for his poor use of language, causing to do nothing but stick his tongue out before going back to questioning Bill. Meanwhile, Harry stood up to give Hermonie a hug and allowed her to take his seat on the sofa. 

            Sensing that Bill was not going to give up his secret, Ron abandoned his quest and instead surrendered to listening to Hermonie chastise him for not yet starting his Potions essay. Ginny found herself discussing Quiddich with Harry, and Charlie and Bill found themselves watching the two couples with amused looks on their faces. 

            "Did you know I found Ginny and Harry in bed together? My bed, to be exact." Charlie told his brother with a smile. 

            "Oh that's nothing. I found them half naked locked in the bathroom together. Ginny flipped out again, claiming they're 'just friends'. They're just lucky it was me who opened the door and not Mum or Dad." Bill laughed. 

            "And just look at our little brother? That girl has got him so whipped it's not even funny." Hermonie had pulled a rather large book out of her bag and appeared to be lecturing Ron on the finer points of eloquent essay writing.

            "How long do you think before they hook up?" Charlie asked his brother.

            "Who? Harry and Ginny? Merlin, I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet. Actually, it might have, you should have seen how Ginny denied anything earlier and how terrified Harry was when I walked in on them." 

"What those two though?" Charlie pointed over to where Ron, who had taken Hermonie's book and began waving it around, was shouting something they couldn't quite hear through Hermonie's protests that Ron the 'pain-in-the-arse prat' was going to ruin her book. 

            "I'm not too sure about them. They're completely obvious, but do you really think they would be able to stop fighting long enough for a quick snog?" 

            "You don't know what the hell you're talking about. Look at him; he hasn't taken his eyes off her since she walked in. Do you know he even straightened his room up? Was afraid of being lectured about his pig sty of a room."

            "Care to make a little wager then?" Bill suggested with a slightly evil grin.

"Okay. I'll put fifty on Ron and Hermonie by the end of the day tomorrow and fifty on Harry and Ginny by Christmas Eve" Charlie said confidently. 

            "Alright, you're on little brother." Just as they were shaking on it Mrs. Weasley entered the room and announced that dinner was ready. Everyone got up and headed towards the kitchen, where the table had been expanded from earlier in the morning to accompany the ever-growing Weasley household and there appeared to be enough food to feed a small third world country. 

            The dinner was loud, obnoxious, punctuated with laughter and full of stories. Hermonie and Ginny had gotten up to help Molly bring in dessert; a strange muggle treat called 'Deep Fried Twinkies' that Hermonie insisted was delicious, when Ron stood up.

            "Well Bill, I do believe you said you had an announcement to make…so out with it then." He said, rubbing his hands together, obviously anxious to hear what the big news was. The rest of the family quieted down as Bill sighed and pushed his chair back from the table.

            "Okay, okay…I probably should wait until after the holidays for this…" he began but was cut off by his mother.

            "Ooooo, I knew it. Fleur is pregnant! I'm going to be a grandmother. Do you know, is it a boy or a girl?" She asked, grinning crazily and shuffling over to embrace her son in a hug.

            "Molly, darling, you need to let the poor boy finish. You don't know that's what it's about." Arthur said in all seriousness.

            "Oh, don't be silly. What else could it be? Unless you know? Do you? Oh Bill, how could you tell your father before you told me!" All hell broke loose as Molly began sobbing, upset at the fact that her son had told her husband about 'the baby' first. 

            "HOW COULD YOU! You know I've been looking forward to this moment since you were BORN! Oh my baby…" Arthur quickly got up to comfort his wife. 

            "Way to go Bill. Nice way to start the holidays…making Mum cry like that…" Percy scolded him as he also walked over to comfort his mother. 

            Ron and George began snickering, after all, seeing Bill being verbally abused by their mother was one of their favorite pastimes. Unfortunately both Hermonie and Angela, who George had started seeing earlier in the year, saw and both the boys ended up getting smacked in the head. 

            By this time Molly was in full hysterics; Arthur, Percy, Penelope and Fred all trying to calm her down before she gave herself an aneurysm. Harry and Ginny were cracking up as they watched Ron and George being pummeled by Hermonie and Angela. 

Charlie, on the other hand, was reaching across the table for more mashed potatoes, trying to block out all of the crying, shouting, and arguing.

            "First this, then the next thing you know one of the others will go run off and elope, and then…" Molly continued to cry in the background. Bill finally had enough and stood up.

            "MUM, I DIDN'T TELL DAD ABOUT 'THE BABY' FIRST! THERE. IS. NO. BABY! THERE WON'T BE ANY BABY! FLEUR AND I ARE GETTING DIVORCED!" He shouted, immediately regretting his tone when he saw the look on his mother's face.

            _Well, that's one way to get everyone to shut up. Damn, I don't think it's been this quiet here since Fred and George accidentally slipped some of that 'mute tongue toffee' into the well and everyone lost their voice for half the day._

Ginny tried to stifle a giggle, but as she remembered that day and how everyone was trying chase the twins around the house trying to yell at them, her cheeks became sore from holding it in.

Just as her mother hurried over the embrace Bill, she started laughing.

            And it wasn't just the normal chuckle that people do during an inappropriate time, but a full gut-busting, laugh-so-hard-you're-not-even-making-a-noise-just-really-creepy-silent-shaking laugh. Everyone turned from Bill to see why Ginny was laughing.

            Just as Mrs. Weasley was about to scold Ginny for her unacceptable behavior, Bill began laughing as well. Everyone paused, looking very confused and not quite sure what to make of the situation.

            "Bill, dear, why are you laughing? What in Merlin's name is funny about this? Stop it this instance!" Molly attempted to calm her son before turning to Ginny, "And you, young lady, this is a hard time for your brother, it is not a laughing matter. Your brother just lost the love of his life!"

            At hearing this Bill began laughing even more. 

            "Mum, don't you see? It is pretty funny. I mean, hell…we could hardly even understand each other. Last week I told her I was going out for drinks with some guys from work and she thought I said I was going to 'shrink some midgets to relieve their hurt!'" At this point, the tension seemed to ease up a little and the rest of the family began laughing as well…all except for Molly.

            "What do you mean? I thought you two were meant for each other? You acted like you were so in love."

            "I don't think we were ever in love. I think it was just infatuation…on both parts. We had absolutely nothing in common. Don't you remember what our house looked like?" 

            While her mother just shook her head in disbelief, Ginny smiled.  She did remember their house. In an attempt to help each other learn their respective languages, labels had been placed around the house – le porte/door, le bar-buffet/liquor cabinet, le chaise/chair – it had gotten so bad that no one could walk around the house without getting the fallen signs stuck on the bottom of their shoes.  

            "Mum, honestly, really I'm fine…" Molly flung herself at her son, crying and mumbling incoherently into his shoulder. He looked up at the rest of the family and sighed. 

            "Let me talk to her," he whispered, "She'll get over it." He took her and led her off to the porch to talk. As soon as they were out of the room -

            "I can't believe it…"

            "It makes sense; I think they're better off…"

            "Sweet Merlin, Fleur is single again…"

            "You insensitive prat…"

            "Damn, would that be considered incest?"

            "Oh bloody hell; I think I hear her crying again…"

            Everyone was talking at once, well all accept Charlie. He was going back for thirds on the potatoes.


	8. A Night By the Fire

Disclaimer: Yes as a matter a fact I do own these characters. I own them because, you see, this is all just my dream…that's right…you are all just figments of my imagination!! Dear god, that's a horrifying thought. I think it's time to go back on the meds…  

(*This applies to the last chapter as well…thanks for the reminder **Emmy*)**

A/N: Happy Halloween!! Being that I am in an especially good mood, it not only being my favorite holiday- I'm watching 'Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin' as I type this, but also the fact the I just got my midterm grades, I give you a special treat, another new chapter!! 

            *A Night By the Fire*

"Making yourself some tea dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked her daughter as she walked into the kitchen later that evening. 

            "Nope, no tea. I was in the mood for hot chocolate." She told her mother as she went back to rummaging through the cabinets. 

            "On the top shelf of the cabinet above the stove, sweetie." Mrs. Weasley knew exactly what Ginny was looking for and sure enough when her daughter turned back around she had her Twizzlers in hand. A few years ago Harry had brought back some strange muggle candy that he had taken from his cousin. Ginny was the only one of the Weasleys brave enough to actually try them and had immediately taken a liking to them, especially with her hot cocoa. She tried explaining her odd habit of drinking her hot chocolate through the candy, but no matter how hard she tried to explain it, everyone else still thought it was disgusting. Regardless of that, Ginny placed three long pieces of the red licorice into her cup and asked her mother where the rest of her family was.__

            "Well, your father is asleep and Percy and Penelope have already gone up for the night. Fred left to go visit Angelina's for a little while…and I think the rest are still in the living room." Mrs. Weasley replied.

            Ginny grabbed the steaming mug and walked to the living room. Upon entering, she saw Charlie sleeping stretched out on the sofa, his feet dangerously close to the face of George, who was also fast asleep, lying at the other end. Ron and Hermione were sitting on the floor off to the right of the fireplace playing a game of chess; for once Hermione was actually winning. Bill and Harry were looking out the window at the snow while talking animatedly about Quiddich. Setting her drink down on the table, Ginny went over to the sofa and grabbed two blankets off the back. She unfolded one and placed it gently over her two sleeping brothers, then wrapped the other one around her shoulders as she curled into her favorite overstuffed armchair. Cupping both of her hands around her cup, absorbing the warmth the cocoa was giving off, Ginny eyes glanced around the room and landed on the handsome, dark-haired boy at the window.

            Bill was diagramming a Quiddich play called the 'Krazy Kamikaze Khaser', a move he had made famous during his bout as a chaser on the Gryffindor house team back in the day. Even from across the room Ginny could see the way Harry's face lit up when talking about his favorite game. 

            _They are so adorable when they are talking about Quiddich. They're like the puppies in the box your neighbor has on his front porch when you walk up to them…they get the big puppy dog eyes, and their tails start wagging so hard their entire bodies start to move with them…_

Ginny yawned and placed her drink back on the table; pulling the blanket tighter around her as she drifted off into sleep. She was in the middle of a dream, in which she woke up on Christmas morning to find a small puppy with black fur and vibrant green eyes wrapped in a red bow waiting under the tree for her, when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

            "Any chance you could spare some room for me?" Ginny blinked a few times before her eyes adjusted and were able to meet the striking emerald ones that were leaning over her.

            "For you? Nah," she yawned, "I don't wanna sit near you. You smell." Although even as she was protesting, Ginny was already scooting over for him. She stretched out her legs and rolled her neck as Harry wedged himself into the seat next to her. The chair was big, but even so, finding a comfortable position was not easy. It took a few moments to finally arrange themselves in the chair; Ginny had turned to the side, lying across Harry, draping her legs over the edge of the cushion, and resting her head against his chest. 

            "So since it's almost Christmas eve…did you ask Santa for anything special this year?" She asked him once they were situated. 

            "Oh, well, being that I already got to see you in a towel and dancing like a fool in the kitchen I can't think of anything else I could possibly want," he joked, earning him a slap upside the head by Ginny, who also couldn't help but laugh a the situation as well. "What about you?"

            "Hmm…lets see, not only did I get to sleep with the most eligible wizard in London but I also go to see him naked…nope, I can't think of anything else either." She replied, feeling rewarded when she noticed the blush beginning to work its way up Harry's neck.     

            "Oh ha ha ha. You're real funny, you know that. Absolutely fucking hilarious," his voice dripping with sarcasm, "You just wait. You'll get yours."

            As they sat, Ginny noticed how quiet the living room had gotten. Apart from the rhythmic sounds of breathing from her human pillow Harry, the only other noise was the occasional crackling of the fire. 

            "Where'd everyone go?" She asked as she lifted her head and looked around the room. Charlie and George were still sleeping, but Ginny could detect the sounds of light snoring coming besides the couch, not on top of it. She pushed herself up a little further, trying to ignore the feel the well defined muscles underneath her hands, to look over the coffee table. As interesting as their chess game was, Ron and Hermonie had both fallen asleep. Hermione had stretched out along the length of the hearth, while Ron had curled himself into the fetal position, their foreheads just barely touching. 

            _Wow, I think this is the longest time they've ever shared the same air without hurling insults or obscene comments at each other. _Harry thought to himself. _ Ha, who woulda guessed Hermione snored…and is that…oh sweet Merlin, is Ron sucking his thumb? _

He tried to hide his laughter, but the silent shaking of his chest under Ginny's hand gave him away. Ginny too was having a hard time containing herself, but she wanted to be courteous of the rest of her sleeping family members.

            "He's had that habit since he was little. I was pretty sure he stopped when he started at Hogwarts, but I guess being back home and all…" she attempted to whisper. Unfortunately she was also still trying very hard to suppress the giggles lingering in the back of her throat, so it came out somewhat mangled. 

            "Oh, just wait until we get back to school...he doesn't have a teddy bear or anything that I should know about does he?" Harry said in mock seriousness. Ginny shook her head and laid back down against him. They just sat, watching the flames dance around the fireplace. 

            "So where's Bill? I heard him talking your head off when I came in. I don't think he realizes how boring he is sometimes. Did he run out of stories from his youth to dazzle you with?" she asked in a joking matter, not expecting the somber look that came across his face.

            "I could listen to those stories all day…it's what I never had. Did you know that Bill knew my parents?" Ginny shook her head and he continued in a low voice.

"He was in his first year when my parents were in their last. That move he was showing me when you walked in, my dad taught him that…" his voice dropped even more, to just above a whisper, "It's different than just hearing about them from one of their teachers or a shopkeeper who knew them. It's from someone who looked up to them, got to learn stuff from them…stuff that they would have taught me…" His voice began to crack and Ginny could see his eyes start to well. 

She reached up and placed both her arms around Harry's neck, nuzzling her head in the crook between his shoulder and head. 

"I wish I could have met them. I've seen pictures; back at school…your mum was really beautiful. They would've been so proud of you." Ginny could feel the tears begin to burn in her eyes, and shut them as one tear escaped, rolling down off her face before being absorbed by his shirt. 

Neither really knew what to say, so they sat in silence in each other's arms as the snowflakes whirled around outside the window.

A/N: Awww…how sweet. I know this was incredibly cheesy, but I just couldn't help myself. Anyway I'm working on the next chapter and I hope to have it out soon. Plus I'm starting an update e-mail thing if I can get it to work, so if you'd like to get on the list just let me know!


	9. A Hundred Reasons to Hate Mistletoe

Disclaimer: Not mine. Ever. It's unfortunate, yes I know. It makes me cry. Not really.

A/N: Cookies to everyone who has read and reviewed my story! Those really yummy Pillsbury 'all you have to do is cut' cookies. You know the ones with the little pumpkins or Christmas trees in the middle, the ones where you end up eating half the roll raw before you even bake them…what…I know I'm not the only one whose does that? Am I?  
  


*WARNING: some foul language in this chapter…I need some soap to wash my mouth out with.

            *A Hundred Reasons to Hate Mistletoe*

            "Kids! Brunch is ready!" There were numerous groans, grunts, and yawns as Charlie, George, Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny all slowly rejoined the land of the conscious in the living room. 

            "Charlie, what the…HHRUMPH" George slid off the sofa and landed with a thud on the floor as Charlie stretched out, accidentally kicking him. By the fireplace Ron let out a small yelp as he rolled over some chess pieces from the night before. It seemed Ginny was the only one to wake comfortably; waking up in the arms of Harry for second night in a row. 

            "Morning sunshine, have a nice rest? Was it comfortable enough for you?" Immediately going red, Ginny started to get up, but, not realizing sleeping curled in a chair had caused her foot to fall asleep, fell back; back onto Harry's lap, "You okay there Gin? Leg fall asleep on you?" He asked as he helped her back to her feet.

            "Merlin Harry, you could've woken me up. My fat arse laying on you all night…" She sat on the foot rest, stretching her aching muscles out, wincing at the pins and needles moving their way up her leg.

            "Here, let me get that," Harry leaned forward and placed his hand around her left calve and began massaging it slowly, "That better?" She nodded 

            _Oh gods does that feel good! He's being pretty brave, putting his hands all over me while three of my brothers are in the same room…oh fuck it…mmmmm Merlin…where did he learn to do this with his hands?_

Ginny inhaled sharply as his hand moved to her other leg, desperately fighting the moan that was lingering in the back of her throat.

            "I guess I learned something useful back at the Dursley's. Trust me; I know how painful it can be sleeping in a less than comfortable space." He said, almost as if he had read her mind. She did notice however, that his eyes were not on her legs, but were watching hers.

            _Why is he staring at me? It's kinda creepy. Why does he have that goofy smile on his face? Oh no! My hair is probably a mess…and my breath…Ahh, I need a toothbrush!_

She pulled away from Harry and his magic hands and quickly tried to tame her hair, most of which had fallen out of her pigtails from the night before. She went to stand but was stopped when Harry grabbed a hold of her wrist. With his other hand he reached up and tucked the stray strands of red hair behind her ear, letting his hand linger on her cheek slightly longer than he knew he should. 

            "It looks fine Gin. How many times do you have to be told you look beautiful to matter what?" For once, she noticed neither she nor Harry was blushing. Suddenly Mrs. Weasley burst into the room, ranting and raving that breakfast was going to get cold if everybody didn't hurry up. Harry let go of Ginny's wrist and the two followed the rest into the kitchen. 

            Even though it was almost eleven o'clock, everyone was still pretty tired and brunch was nowhere near as chaotic as the previous night's dinner. Afterward Ginny was helping clean up when Charlie pulled her aside to talk to her.

            "Ginny, Ginny, Ginny, you know you'd like to do your favorite older brother a favor, wouldn't you?" He asked her, sticking his lower lip out and giving her puppy dog eyes. Unfortunately it did not have the desired effect because it caused Ginny to do nothing but laugh and roll her eyes.

            "Depends on what it is, favorite brother o-mine." Charlie placed his arm around her shoulder and led her into the next room, away from the table.

            "Well, you see it kinda involves you and Harry. Bill and I have placed a little bet on something, and if you guys would be willing to help me out…I could be tempted to give you a cut of the winnings." Ginny nodded and urged him to continue, "Okay, first I need you to get Ron and Hermione together by tonight. I know it's kinda short notice…" he continued telling her his plan, but she was in her own little world, causing her to miss the description of the second part of the deal.  

            _Yessssssssss__, now not only will I get some of what Charlie wins, but I'll also get the Gryffindor pot! I'll finally have enough to get that new robe I saw at Madame Malkin's. _

"So, what do you think? Are you gonna help your big brother out?" Ginny, still dreaming of her new robes and the accessories she could get with the leftover money, nodded excitedly.

            "Okay, so it's agreed. Now I know you're probably not too happy about the second part…" Charlie started, but she held her hand up.  

            "Don't worry about it, I know just what to do," She turned and headed up the stairs to her room, reached the first landing before her brother even realized she was gone. In her room she dug through a pile of books that was sitting in the corner by her desk. 

            "Hogwarts a History…Beasties, Bats, and Goblins…Standard Spells Level 3…" She tossed each book over her shoulder until she found the one she was looking for, "Here we go, 'Fun Spells to Use on Your Friends…or Enemies." She had gotten the book as a birthday gift from Hermione a while back, and it was full of charms, spells and potion recipes for just about anything a teenage girl could need. She turned to the section on 'Playing Matchmaker, or How to Get Your Friends to Hook Up' and skimmed the list:

How to Enchant Mistletoe – First gather two small bunches of mistletoe, 

making sure each has a group of AT LEAST two berries. Then recite the 

following incantation, filling in the blanks with the names of the two people 

you wish to get together. The spell will not be broken until the couple 

shares their first true kiss.

            Ginny walked across the hall and grabbed the small bunch of mistletoe that her mother had placed in the hall outside her door. She sat it on the bed next to the book and grabbed her wand. She untied the ribbon and divided the mistletoe into two separate piles, double checking to make sure there were two berries in each set. 

            "To speed up destiny and desire, making hearts as hot as fire, these mistletoe will find their mark, binding the two with a spark, increasing as the time goes on, a kiss between…Hermonie and Ron." With a flick of her wrist, a silver ribbon sprung from her wand, wrapping itself around the both bundles. There was a loud 'POP' and Ginny smiled in satisfaction as the ribbon split and the two groups of mistletoe disappeared. She closed the book and placed it and her wand back on her desk and then walked downstairs to see if the spell worked.

                                                *************************    

"Virginia Weasley what the hell have you done? Why is this effing weed still following me around? And stop telling me you had nothing to do with it!" It had been over two hours since Ginny cast her spell and so far it was working wonderfully. As Ron stood yelling at her, one bunch of mistletoe was hanging just above his head. 

"I don't know what you're talking about Ronald. I think Fred and George are just playing another prank on you." She said, giving her brother her most innocent smile. Ron continued to bat at the plant in front of him but every time he swung it floated up just out of reach.

"You're really gonna make me wait till Hermione comes back with Mum and Harry so she can fix this? What kind of sister are you?" While he waited, he flung himself down on the sofa and buried his nose in a copy of 'Quiddich Monthly'. Mrs. Weasley had gone into muggle London per Hermione's request. After the disastrous gift she purchased for her parents from Hogsmeade last year, which resulted their Christmas tree turning into a rather large burning bush from Hell, she decided to take the safe route and get them normal muggle gifts. Harry, who decided that he too also had a last minute gift to obtain, went along with them.

Fifteen minutes later Ginny saw a flash of green in the floo followed by three soot covered bodies flying out into the room. Mrs. Weasley appeared to be consoling Hermione.

"I don't know dear. I'm sure we can figure something…wait, Ronald, what's that hanging over you head? Is that…mistletoe?" Mrs. Weasley asked her son as she dusted herself off. Ron nodded and all of a sudden there was a bright flash of green light, causing everyone in the room to shield their eyes. Knowing what was coming next, Ginny used the opportunity to slip out of the room unnoticed. From the hallway she could hear the commotion.

"The f…Eeerrr….geoff me stupid plant. Mum, what's going on?"

"Merlin, it's multiplying!  I don't know…Ron did you have anything to do with this?"

"Mrs. Weasley make it stop! ACK…stupid berries…"

            As Ginny tried to hide a snicker she felt someone come up behind her.

            "Ginny? You wouldn't happen to be behind this little charade would you?" Harry asked her, nodding towards the door. Ginny shrugged and leaned over to look back into the living room. The spell had said that once the two identified people saw each other, the mistletoe would steadily multiply, increasing until the couple finally kissed. Sure enough the two bunches of mistletoe had grown, looking like small green clouds over top the heads of both Ron and Hermione. 

            _Should I tell him? Charlie didn't specify that I absolutely HAD to have Harry's help. I'm sure it'll be fine to keep him out of the loop. Oh who cares? He'll probably be upset because he didn't think of it first._

"Well Harry, perhaps I might have had a little something to do with this. Trust me though; you'll thank me when they're finally together," she smiled sweetly, "Although don't tell Mum…I don't wanna get in trouble." Harry agreed and they quietly went back into the living room, curious as to how Mrs. Weasley would try and solve the problem. 

            "Ginny!!! This wouldn't have anything to do with that book I gave you for your birthday would it?" Hermione asked her when she reentered the room. Like a deer caught in headlights, Ginny immediately blushed and spun around, ready to leave again.

            "Just a minute young lady, you come back here young lady. What is this about a book? Did you have anything to do with this?" Her mother asked. 

            "Um…well…eerrr…maybe…." Ginny's voice was just above a whisper as she bit her lower lip, afraid of what punishment her mother was going to hand out. Just then Harry came up beside her and threw his arm around her shoulders.

            "Mrs. Weasley it was my idea. You have no idea what it's like to have to deal with these two all the time. I figured that if I finally got them to admit they liked each other, you know, they'd stop fighting. I asked Ginny for help. I just couldn't take it anymore, you know." Molly just laughed.

            "You're right dear. Alright, Ron just go give Hermione a kiss and I'm sure all this will clear up." She said, expecting the string of adamant refusals that came from both teens.

            "Mum I am NOT kissing Hermione. You can't make me do this."

            "I can't kiss him Mrs. Weasley. I don't know where those lips have been, probably hooking up with half the girls in Gryffindor." Shaking her head, Molly continued chuckling.

            "Well kids, that's the only thing I can think of. Either that or wait for the spell to wear off, and who knows how long that could be." She said winking; giving Ginny the feeling that if the spell did start to wear off before they kissed, Molly would find a way to keep it going. Giving one last look at the mistletoe, which was still growing, Mrs. Weasley exited the room. Hermione grabbed Ron's arm and started dragging him up the steps, mumbling something about finding a countercharm in one of her books.

            By dinner time mistletoe covered nearly every ceiling surface in the Burrow. Every few minutes a leaf would fall down onto the table, narrowly missing the large bowl of soup sitting in the middle, and throughout the meal berries would occasionally fall down too, pelting people in the head as they tried to eat.

            "All right! Enough! Ron, come 'ere." Hermione pushed herself away from the table and walked around the table to where Ron was sitting. Ron, looking very confused, stood up and was quite surprised when Hermione threw her arms around his neck and smashed her lips into his own. There was another green flash of light and with a loud POP all the mistletoe disappeared. Fred and George erupted in cheers, Percy rolled his eyes, Harry and both the twin's girlfriends started clapping, and Mrs. Weasley sat at the end of the table beaming.

            "Way to go little brother," Charlie said, patting his blushing brother on the back with a large smile on his face; but the smile was not completely for Ron. As the rest of the family was thanking Hermonie for finally ridding the house of the mistletoe, Bill proceeded to pull fifty sickles out of his pocket, sliding it discreetly underneath the table into Charlie's waiting hands. 

            A little later as Ginny was heading up to get ready for bed Charlie pulled her aside to give her her share, twenty five galleons.

            "That was bloody brilliant Gin; leave it to you to get the job done this quick. Now, you'll get the rest of the sickles tomorrow night. You're still gonna help me out with this right? The second part of our deal?" Ginny paused, trying to understand what Charlie was going on about.

            _What does he mean, the second part? I got those two together. What else am I supposed to do? Damn it, I knew it couldn't have been that easy. Okay, pull yourself together Gin. Just pretend you know what he's talking about. _Ginny took a deep breath and turned back to her brother.

"Yeah, yeah, no problem. I'm already working on it." She said confidently, hoping it was enough to convince Charlie. Luckily her answer seemed to satisfy him because he gave her a quick grin and started walking up the stairs ahead of her. She had just about reached her door when he turned back around to face her. 

            "Are you sure you're okay with this? I mean, it's not gonna make things all awkward or anything right? After all, you're both going to be here together for the next few days, till you head back to Hogwarts," Ginny, still trying to 'play it cool' assured her brother once again that she had things under control, that is until Charlie spoke again, "I think this is a huge step for you Ginny; make everyone finally realize you've grown up." 

_What the bloody hell is he talking about? Oh shit…he couldn't be talking about…_

"I mean, a few years ago you would have never agreed to kiss Harry."

            _It's okay…really, everything is under control, everything is fine…deep breaths…it's not like I still have that stupid little hero-worship crush on him anymore. It'll be fine, I'll just explain things to him and he'll go along with it because we're friends…friends…friends who are going to be making out…in front of at least two of the my brothers…my over protective brothers…who placed a bet on how soon we would be making out. But everything is great, really…it's all just absolutely fucking grand…_


	10. A Long Awaited Moment, with a Twist

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters anymore than I own the weather. Because if I did you can be damn sure it wouldn't have been hot in enough in NOVEMBER to be wearing freaking TANK TOPS AND SHORTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry I just really want it to be winter already. What can I say…I love the snow.

            *A Long Awaited Moment…with a Twist*

            _It was __three o'clock__ in the morning and all through the Burrow, not a creature was stirring, not even a squirrel. _

            Ginny went through the poem they had gone over in muggle studies before Christmas break, replacing a few of the words as she went. Rolling over in her bed for the umpteenth time that night…or morning by the time on her clock…she once again went over in her head what she was supposed to do. 

            _I didn't exactly PROMISE Charlie I could help him. I can tell him that I tried and Harry wouldn't go for it…he was too afraid of what Bill would do. I don't really need that money, I already won the 50 galleons from the Gryffindor pool…that's good enough, I guess._

Ginny thought back to the set of light blue robes in the back corner of Madame Malkin's shop. She had seen them when she and Colin Creevey were shopping for Christmas gifts on their last trip to Hogsmeade. Ginny had already gotten gifts for everyone on her list, well, everyone except Harry. Trying to convince herself that it really was better to give than to receive she left the shop in search of the perfect gift for Harry.

            _Damnit, why do I have to be such a nice person? _

_Because you love him.__  _

_            No, I loved him. Past tense, lov-ed. I mean he's like a part of the family…so I guess I kinda love him, but not in that way. Not in that way with the butterflies and the weak knees..._

_            Then how do you explain why your pulse still races when you see him sitting across the table from you studying for his potions exam or how when you catch him smiling at you you're happy for the rest of the day…_

            _Old habits die hard._

            _That may be…but you still love him._

Ginny tried to force that little voice out of her head, but the images of Harry kept popping into her head. Eventually she gave up and let the thoughts lulled her back to sleep, allowing herself to dream of the boy she once loved.

                                                ******************************

            "Hey Gin, if you don't get up soon you're gonna miss lunch," Hermione tried to rouse her sleeping friend, "What's a matter? Trouble sleeping last night? You were thrashing around so much last night I thought you were trying to swim away." Ginny lifted her head from the pillow, eyes closed and motioned towards the window.                    

            "Light. Bad. Shut. Now." She grunted and dropped her head again. Hermione complied and went to shut the curtains then took a seat on the bed by Ginny's feet.

            "The dreams again? Let me make you some of that potion I made for Harry, it'll help, I promise." 

            "Oh I found a remedy for those dreams," Ginny thought about the night she had spent with Harry, "This is about something else." Hearing the tone of her friend's voice, Hermione decided not to push any further and simply waited for Ginny to finish getting up so they could go grab some of the lunch that Mrs. Weasley had prepared. As they made their way down the stairs, neither girl heard the whispers of the two boys on the landing above them.

                                                ********************************

            Ginny spent the rest of the day attempting to avoid Harry, which was hard considering it was once again snowing outside and most of the family had chosen to stay inside and savor the warmth the Burrow provided. None the less she had succeeded for the most part. After eating lunch she headed up to her room with the claim that she still needed to wrap a few gifts. Then she decided to lie down for a minute but ended up falling asleep, only to be woken by Hermione for dinner. 

Following dinner Ginny failed to come up with a valid excuse that would get her out of a little family chess tournament that Mr. Weasley had arranged, so she ended up playing two half-assed games against George and Bill before losing to Ron. Instead of retreating to her room, Ginny found herself curling up in her favorite chair watching Ron defend his title against Charlie, Percy and Fred. Two hours later the final game started: Ron vs. Harry. 

            Hermione moved over and took a seat on the edge of the chair next to Ginny, who was staring intently at the raven haired boy trying desperately to save his remaining pawns. 

            "Admiring the view Gin?" Ginny grabbed the pillow from her lap and tossed it at her friend's head, "Well, how can I blame you? It is pretty nice," she said smiling when Ron looked over in her direction. Ginny caught the exchange and called her on it.

            "So what exactly is going on with you and my brother? Have you guys talked about that kiss the other night?" 

            "There was a little talking…very little. I'm kinda glad you did that whole mistletoe spell. Merlin knows we both need a push in that direction. He told me he's got a surprise for me for Christmas," Hermione got that giddy sound in her voice, "So, what about you, did you get Harry anything special?" 

            "Yeah, I haven't wrapped it though. I'm not sure I'm gonna give it to him yet. It's stupid really. I didn't have a lot of money left but I think I did okay." 

            "Oh if it's from you I know he'll love it," Ginny looked at her confused, "What are you blind girl? I've seen him stealing glances at you since I got here. And from the sounds of your dreams last night I think it's pretty safe to say you feel the same way about him." Hermione grinned with a knowing look in her eyes.

            "Oh gods! Was I talking in my sleep? What did I say?" Ginny mumbled through her hands, which were covering the violent shade of red she had turned. Hermione laughed.

            "Nothing really…did something happen between the two of you? I could quite understand your half-sleep talk, but it sounded like you were thanking him for something or he was holding you. Something along those lines…anyway speaking of holding I think they finished their game," She looked over to where Ron was jumping up and down, doing a very scary imitation of a victory dance he had seen the Chudley Cannons doing after they won their first game that past October, "I need to go congratulate the victor." She stood up and walked over to Ron, who was grinning triumphantly, and threw her arms around him. 

            Seeing this as a perfect opportunity, and also not wanting to be in the middle of his friends' canoodling, Harry rose from his seat over and went to where Ginny was sitting, in the same chair where she had fallen asleep in his arm a few nights before. 

            "Ginny, there's…uh…there's something I need to talk to you about." She looked up and smiled.

            "Okay, go on," she went to lean forward but was surprised when Harry grabbed her arm and pulled her out of her seat till she was standing face to face with him, "What's going…" she barely had time to start her sentence when Harry enveloped her in his arms and brought his lips crashing down upon hers, it all happened so quickly it took Ginny a minute to figure out what was happening. 

_Oh my gods! What the hell is he doing? We can't be doing this, not here in the living room. That's not where our first kiss was supposed to happen. It's supposed to be out underneath the stars, or Christmas eve by the tree…not here…not that I've put a lot of thought into this…_Before she could stop herself she allowed a sigh to make it's way out of her mouth, which was still dangerously close to Harry's. Harry backed away to reveal a very red faced Ginny, so red that her hair looked dull in comparison. Her mouth was opened just slightly, in complete shock over what had just happened. Before she even had a chance to react, Ron was jumping up from his seat.

            "I knew it! Didja hear that sigh?? I knew you were still in love with him!" Ginny's face turned even brighter, "When are you going to get over your stupid little crush, Ginny? He doesn't love you!" That earned him a rather hard slap in the back of the head by Hermione. 

            "How can you be so insensitive Ron? That's your little sister! Wait, Ginny come back here…" She tried called out to her friend as Ginny sprinted from the room. Hermione left Ron, who was still cracking up on the sofa, to follow Ginny, but Harry stopped her.

            "Let me go talk to her Hermione. Just…I don't know…hit Ron again. Anything to get him to shut the hell up," Harry shot his friend the evil eye once more and went up the stairs, catching up to Ginny on the platform in front of her door. She knew someone had followed her, but she was too busy struggling to open the doorknob with tear-soaked fingers to even look up when Harry stepped between her and the door.

            "Get. Out. Of. My. Way. Ron, you've had your fun! Let's all laugh at little Ginny, still in love with the famous Boy-Who-Lived! Gods, why don't you just go fuck yourself!" She cried, heading for the stairs to try and get away.

            "Oh trust me; after Hermione saw how he acted down there I'm sure that's the only kind of action he'll be getting for a while," Ginny's head shot up when she heard Harry's voice. She turned back to him but was unable to meet his face with her blurry, puffed-up, tear-filled eyes. 

            "God, he can be so…so…auhh…I hate him so much sometimes. Do you hear that Ronald Weasley! I hate you! I HATE YOU, YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!" She shouted down the steps, punching the wall with her fist, then immediately regretting it, "DAMNIT!" As she nursed her injured hand she could hear Ron talking downstairs.

            "Hermione, wouldja stop hitting me! Do you know what this means? I won the bet! You know…that stupid pool some of the Gryffindors had going…" Ginny's mouth dropped.

            "What is he talking about Harry? I knew there were bets on Ron and Hermione…but was there…with us? Oh merlin…" She let out a sort of half laugh-half cry and leaned back against her door, closing her eyes.

"I thought I heard some of the girls talking about it in the common room last week, right before we all came home, but I wasn't sure. Wait…so that mistletoe thing yesterday? That was about the bet, with Ron and Hermione?" Ginny snorted.

"Not originally, no, Charlie and Bill, they had this thing going. Charlie asked me to help him out so I did. But that wasn't the only…" Harry coughed loudly.

"Gin…I know about the Charlie/Bill thing." Ginny ignored his comment and stepped away from him to try and get back to her door. 

            "I'm over you...I'm not the same little ten year old girl I used to be…Look, I'm sorry okay…I just, I know it was wrong. Now would you please just get out of my way…" She tried once more to push past him but he held both of his arms out against the wall, trapping her in front of him.

            "Gin, look at me, hey," He cupped his hand under her chin and raised it until she was looking him in the eye, "You're right, it was wrong…" He voiced lowered to just above a whisper.

He slowly lowered his lips to hers, hesitating just a moment, before softly taking her lips with his own. At first Ginny didn't respond. She was in a state of shock...Harry Potter…the Harry she used to dream about, the Harry that she was now close friends with, was kissing her. And then something happened that shocked her almost as much…she was kissing him back. 

            He released her head and allowed his hands to travel down her arms, resting on her hips, while hers worked their way up his chest, entwining her fingers in his hair. She tilted her head to the side, giving him more access, as she felt him wrapping one arm around her waist, pulling her closer. Feeling both of their hearts racing wildly, 

"Mmm…god…Harry," No longer able to contain the moan building up, Ginny dropped her hands and grabbed a hold of Harry's shirt, using it to bring him in even closer. Her back was against the door and she could feel the entire length of his body against hers. "Harry…we…mmm…we should…stop." Harry nodded and mumbled in agreement, but made no move to do any such thing. Instead he used the opportunity to slide his tongue past her lips, only momentarily, before releasing her and pulling back. Her lips were slightly swollen, her hair disheveled, and her eyes still closed.

"_That_ is how it should have been," He leaned in for another quick chaste peck, "Goodnight Gin. Sweet dreams." 

A/N: I know, I know, cheese city. Did I overdo it? Click on that little purple button and let me know J  

Oh and a little heads up, the next chapter is going to be a little different. I have this idea but I'm not quite sure how it's going to work out, so the next update might take a little longer…sorry. 


	11. Another Brotherly Chat

Disclaimer: WOOHOO!!! Exams are over!!!! YAY!!! Sue me if you wish but you will never get the 95 I pulled on my psych final!!! That is mine and you can't have it!!!! Neener, neener, neener…

A/N: As some of my reviewers pointed out there were a few continuity problems with the betting and the money issue, but never fear! I have gone back and edited those chapters so hopefully everything is all right now. Please, if anyone notices anything else that's a little off…let me know!

On another note: Happy holidays, happy New Year, don't drink and drive, blah, blah, blah. Okay, so this is pretty much the last chapter in Harry's POV, so some of the dialogue and everything will be the same. Not quite sure how this worked out…I'm pretty brain dead from finals but I wanted to get this chapter out. Now that I'm on break hopefully I'll be able to work on the story some more. So Merry Chrismukkah to all!!

WARNING!!!!! There's some more language in this chapter!!! So beware!!!!

            *Another Brotherly Chat*    

Harry heard a door shut, followed by the footsteps of Ginny and Hermione as they made their way down the stairs.

            "Harry, I have a favor to ask you," Charlie stopped Harry, who was on his way down to breakfast, "Now I know that first morning when I got here was kind of awkward."

            "Kind of awkward? You ever get caught in bed with one of your best friends and have their older, much more muscular brother walk in on you?" Harry said in a joking manner.

            "Well, most of my best friends back at school were guys so I think that would have been little more traumatic. Any way, about this favor? You see, Bill and I have this bet going. Ginny helped me out with the first part, but I don't know if she'll be able to go through with the rest." Harry paused for a moment thinking back to the previous day's conversation he had with Ginny after the mistletoe fiasco ~Well Harry, perhaps I might have had a little something to do with this~

            "Okay, so I'm guessing she was supposed to get Ron and Hermione together and we all know how wonderfully that played out. What else does she have to do?" Harry asked. Charlie took a deep breath, nervous about what he was going to ask this boy; a boy who was very obviously attracted his younger sister, whether he knew it or not.

            "For me to get the rest of the galleons, it all depends on Ginny and yourself hooking up by Christmas Eve. Now that gives you till tomorrow night…" Harry studied Charlie for a moment before he cut him off.

            "Exactly how pissed was Ginny when she found out you guys placed bets on her love life? God, multiple that by a hundred and that's how pissed she'd be at me if she found out I helped you guys behind her back." Harry leaned against the wall and ran his fingers through his hair. 

            "Surprisingly enough she didn't get angry at all, after we talked she just went upstairs to sleep."  Charlie just shrugged.

            _That doesn't sound like Gin. She was probably up half the night figuring out a way out of this…damn, this situation certainly sucks._

_            Not really, after all you've been wanting her since you got here…you've been wanting her for longer than that, you just haven't realized it._

_            She is my friend. I don't want her that way._

_So you didn't stay up and watched her sleep that night by the fire? _

_Well…um…shut up. What the fuck do you know?_

"Suppose I do help you. What's to stop Ginny from kicking my arse once she finds out?"

"Well, she'll get the rest of her money that I promised her. And you can be cut in too. Plus," Charlie smiled, "You'll get Ginny."

"What? What makes you think that's what I want? I don't want that? I don't want to ruin what we have. How could you even think that?" Harry continued stammering until Charlie put a hand on his shoulder.

"Harry, my boy, it's quite obvious. I know I overreacted before about you two, but watching you these past few days, it's like being hit over the head with an anvil. Now you said you'd never hurt my sister, and I believe you. I can tell the way you act around each other. She may say she's over you, and she is in one sense, it's not that hero worship bullshit anymore. And you…" Harry remained quiet but shifted his eyes towards the ground, "I saw you come back out of the woods together. I see you stealing looks at her during meals. Don't forget that little interaction after we all woke up in the living room. Pretty ballsy thing to do in a crowded room." 

_Sorry Charlie but at that moment the fact that there was anyone else in the room was the last thing on my mind._

"So are you going to help me out?" Harry sighed and paused for a moment before nodding, "Yea? Alright, just make sure either Bill or I is around, gotta have proof." Charlie gave Harry one more slap on the shoulder and headed downstairs. 

At breakfast all the seats were already taken except the seat next to Ginny. Reluctantly Harry took the seat, giving Ginny a small smile as he sat down.  

_That's convenient…oh bloody hell, I'm NOT going to be witness to Ron and Hermione playing footsie during my meal…if I wanted to subject myself to completely inappropriate public displays of affection I would have stayed at Hogwarts for Christmas._

Although after thinking about the task that he was given to complete by Charlie, Harry decided not to judge his two friends too harshly. 

                        ***************************************

Harry spent the rest of the day working out the numerous situations that Charlie's plan could fail miserably; with the best case scenario ending in Ginny inflicting some minor physical abuse and the worst case scenario ending with four older brothers kicking his ass and him losing his connection with Ginny, which scared him more than the impending ass kicking. Unfortunately for him Ginny seemed to have some very important chores to finish up and he hardly saw her the rest of the day until after dinner. 

Mr. Weasley proposed a little chess tournament for the family and as Harry played his first few games he noticed Ginny concentrating very intently on her own games; that was until she lost to Ron. Harry, who had just beat Hermione, was watching as the two girls starting talking across the room when he felt someone punch his arm.

"Oi mate, it looks like you're about to get your arse handed to you on a platter. Guess who's playing against you in the last game?" Ron brought his thumb up and pointed at himself as he sat down on the sofa.

"Joy," Harry noticed that Ron's eyes had locked onto Hermione's, "So, you and 'Mione? Took you guys long enough. Just promise me I'm not going to have to see you guys sucking face right in front of me, okay? Don't need you two happy lovebirds waving that fact that I'm alone in my face." He laughed at his own expense, knowing that his friends and their relationships were all changing for the better. 

            "You know we'd never do that, besides you'll never be alone. Ginny's still hung up on you so she's alone too…although you might have to worry about her jumping you or something. Eww, bad mental image." Ron shook his head and started resetting his chess pieces. 

            "Gin won't be alone forever, and she is over me. You don't give her enough credit Ron. She's an amazing girl," Harry stopped suddenly, afraid Ron would notice the starry look in his eyes, "So, let's get this game started shall we?" 

            "Prepare to lose Potter." Which was exactly what happened at Ron called checkmate and then proceeded to have some sort of epileptic seizure he thought qualified at a victory dance. As Hermione 'congratulated' her boyfriend, Harry saw Charlie nod at him from the doorway and look in Ginny's direction. She yawned and his mind kicked into gear.

            _There she is. Charlie's here, Bill's here, everyone else is preoccupied, perfect chance. She's in our chair…wait…our chair? Hmmm, yeah, I like the sound of that. Okay, now get your arse over there… _

"Ginny, there's…uh…there's something I need to talk to you about." He almost lost his nerve when he saw the sweet smile she gave him. 

            _Okay, alright, I can do this. Just pull her up and into your arms and you've got it. Merlin knows you've wanted it. Albeit these aren't the ideal conditions, I should take her out under the stars or wait until Christmas Eve…not that I've put a lot of thought into this…_

"Okay, go on," Finally gathering his wits, Harry took hold of her wrist and pulled her out of her seat till he was standing face to face with her, "What's going…" He barely heard her as he bent forward and captured her lips with his own. Caught up in the moment, Harry forgot the fact that he shouldn't do anything to draw anyone's attention and placed his arm on the small of her back, pulling her a little bit closer. She lifted her head slightly and Harry hoped no one else noticed her sigh, unfortunately when he heard Ron jump out of his seat Harry knew someone had heard.

"I knew it! Didja hear that sigh?? I knew you were still in love with him!" Still in his arms, Harry could see Ginny's face flame, "When are you going to get over your stupid little crush, Ginny? He doesn't love you!" Harry watched as Hermione slapped Ron upside the head for his stupidity. 

            "How can you be so insensitive Ron? That's your little sister! Wait, Ginny come back here…" Hermione tried called out to her friend as she sprinted from the room. Harry ignored a laughing Ron on the sofa and jumped to stop Hermione from leaving the room.

            "Let me go talk to her Hermione. Just…I don't know…hit Ron again. Anything to get him to shut the hell up," Harry shot his friend the evil eye once more and went up the stairs, catching up to Ginny on the platform in front of her door. He watched as she struggled to open her door, then stepped in front of her.

            "Get. Out. Of. My. Way. Ron, you've had your fun! Let's all laugh at little Ginny, still in love with the famous Boy-Who-Lived! Gods, why don't you just go fuck yourself!" She cried, and started for the stairwell again.

            "Oh trust me; after Hermione saw how he acted down there I'm sure that's the only kind of action he'll be getting for a while," Harry noticed how quickly Ginny's head rose at the sound of his voice. 

            "God, he can be so…so…auhh…I hate him so much sometimes. Do you hear that Ronald Weasley! I hate you! I HATE YOU, YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!" She shouted down the steps and punched the wall, "DAMNIT!" Harry attempted to help her but she pulled away when she heard the talking downstairs.

            "Hermione, wouldja stop hitting me! Do you know what this means? I won the bet! You know…that stupid pool some of the Gryffindors had going…" 

            _Oh shit…_

            "What is he talking about Harry? I knew there were bets on Ron and Hermione…but was there…with us? Oh merlin…" She let out a sort of half laugh-half cry and leaned back against her door, closing her eyes.

            _Oh shit, okay um...maybe she forgot Charlie's deal…play dumb._

"I thought I heard some of the girls talking about it in the common room last week, right before we all came home, but I wasn't sure. Wait…so that mistletoe thing yesterday? That was about the bet, with Ron and Hermione?" Harry tried to sound confused and hoped Ginny wouldn't catch on.

"Not originally, no, Charlie and Bill, they had this thing going. Charlie asked me to help him out so I did. But that wasn't the only…" Harry coughed loudly.

_Okay, playing dumb won't work…well, they say honesty is the best policy._

"Gin…I know about the Charlie/Bill thing." Harry took a deep breath, wondering what type of unholy hell Ginny would unleash on him, and was surprised when she merely tried to get back to her door.

            "I'm over you...I'm not the same little ten year old girl I used to be…Look, I'm sorry okay…I just, I know it was wrong. Now would you please just get out of my way…" 

_Merlin I've managed to fuck things up. What does she have to be sorry for? I should be the one apologizing, after all it was wrong…I need to fix this._

Not wanting to let her get away, he raised his arms and trapped her in between himself and the door.

            "Gin, look at me, hey," He placed his hand under her chin and brought it up until their eyes were level with each other "You're right, it was wrong…"He could barely hear his own voice.

He slowly lowered his lips to hers, hesitating just a moment, before softly kissing her. At first Harry was worried because Ginny was so still, maybe she really was over him and he had waited too long to make his move, but when he realized that she was kissing him back all rational thought left his mind. 

            He released her head and slowly worked his way down her arms, resting on her hips. Meanwhile he felt her fingers dance their way from his chest, across his shoulders and eventually entwining themselves in his hair. Ginny moved her head to the side, and Harry took the opportunity to bring her closer by wrapping one arm around her waist. Feeling both of their hearts racing wildly. 

"Mmm…god…Harry," Harry heard a moan and couldn't decided who had produced it, until Ginny abruptly dropped her hands, grabbing Harry's shirt until he could feel the entire length of her body against his. "Harry…we…mmm…we should…stop." Harry merely nodded his head and felt her mouth open a little wider. He took the risk and slid his tongue past her lips, only briefly, before finally letting her go. Harry paused and took in the sight of her swollen lips, and disheveled hair, then realized he had to get back to his own room…immediately.

"_That_ is how it should have been," Desperately wanting to follow her into her room, he simply leaned in and kissed her once more. "Goodnight Gin. Sweet dreams." 

A/N 2: So? Good? Bad? Did you like the different outlook? Please leave a review and I promise that Santa won't leave you any coal!!!!


	12. I'm Sorry, So Sorry

Disclaimer: I own nothing. 

*WARNING – A little language and a sexual situation that may not be suitable for younger readers…I think. Oh what do I know, might be more PG-13 than R or it might not be. Depends on how strict your definitions are. 

A/N: *Ducks behind table away from dangerous thrown objects* I know I haven't updated in forever…I apologize. With the holidays and the weather and real life things just didn't work out the way I had planned. But never fear – an update is here. Wow that sounds retarded. Man, has anyone else seen the video for "This Love" by Maroon 5? Am I the only one who thinks the lead singer is totally hot? Also I know the first part of this chapter is crap. Skip it if you'd like. It was hard to write without cracking up at the chessyness of it all. But it's the first time I've written a scene like this – smut writer I am not. If anyone thinks they can do a better job and would be interested in maybe writing a chapter for me let me know. I haven't decided yet whether I'll need something like that for this story yet. Oh well, so without further adieu...

This chapter is dedicated to my brother – you know I love you, besides if you weren't here who would I have to fight with all the time? Family holidays would be no where near as fun. 

*I'm Sorry, So Sorry*

            "Merlin Ginny, you trying to scare me to death?" Harry said into the darkness. It was either very late in the evening or very early in the morning when Ginny stumbled back into Harry's bed, causing him to awake rather abruptly. 

            "I'm sorry…Hermione snoring so loud…was so cold…" She rubbed at her eyes with one hand and yawned, pulling the covers back and laying down beside him. When her cold feet rubbed up against his leg a chill shot all the way up his spine. 

            "Wow, it really must have been cold down there. Oh, hey watch it Gin, you, uh," Harry was suddenly feeling very uncomfortable as she curled back into his chest. Ginny mumbled something incoherent but finally settled down and went back to sleep. Harry found himself lost in thoughts of the night before as he listened to her breath softly. He felt bad for the way Ron had made fun of her when he walked up and surprised her the night before. While he was vowing to talk to Ron he felt Ginny shift in front of him again. He rationalized that she was tired and sleeping and not aware of the effect she was having on him.

            "Ginny, you might wanna…please, could you stop squirming around up there?" He felt his skin get a little hotter and hoped Ginny would stop writhing around before the situation got even more embarrassing.

            "Wwwssswrrrnnggwwuuuu?" Ginny was mumbling into the pillow again and continued to move around. When she rubbed herself right up against him Harry was immediately aroused. 

            "Come on Gin," His voice was strained as he tried to move away from her. Unfortunately his back was already against the wall and his front…well his front was pressing directly into one of his best friends who happened to be sharing his bed, "Ginny, please…"

            "What wrong? Am I keeping you _up?" Ginny appeared to be fully awake now and completely aware of what she was doing. Harry froze at the sound of her voice; she sounded different, full of something he couldn't quite put his finger on._

            "Oh it's nothing really, just a little problem." He replied, hoping she couldn't feel the evidence of his problem against her back. 

            "I don't know. Feels like a pretty _big problem to me." Ginny arched backwards and ground into him again. After she spoke Harry realized what it was he heard in her voice – desire – and it both terrified and excited him. _

            "Good God Gin, if you had any idea…" He stifled a moan when he felt her pull away from him and rolled over on her back, looking up at him with a smile. He lifted his hand to brush a strand of hair out of her face. Instead she took it and brought it to her shoulder, using her hands to curl his fingers around the strap of the tank top she had worn to bed. 

            "I have a vague _feeling. The question is what are you going to do about it?" They stayed there for a few seconds like that; staring into each other's eyes before Harry dropped his mouth to Ginny's collarbone. A trail of kisses followed the strap of her shirt down her arm, ending at her fingertips before he worked his way over to other arm repeating the motion. He had both straps down and was in the process of working his mouth lower and lower down her neck when she suddenly slid out from underneath him and threw her leg over his waist, straddling him. _

            She sucked on his earlobe as her hand found its way to the hem of his shirt. Lowering her head to his stomach she inched his shirt up and began sucking her way up his chest. She paused to nibble on his nipple, grinning wickedly when the heard the moan it elicited. She ground her hips into his and wrapped her arm around his back, easing the shirt over his head. They were both breathing heavily as Harry sat up and slid his hands under her shirt. It landed next to his on the floor beside the bed. 

            "Mmmm, Harry…please…" That was all the motivation he needed. She rolled back over so she was lying on her back and he quickly covered her mouth with his. As she slid her tongue past his lips he raised hand to cup one of her breasts. Her tongue continued its battle for dominance and her hands tangled themselves in his hair.

            "I love you so much Harry," she moaned into his mouth, "I've loved you since the moment I set eyes on you."

            "Gods Gin, I love you too. I love you." He said into the darkness of his room, unaware of knocking on his door.

            "Hey, I love you too mate," Ron laughed as slammed the door shut behind him causing Harry to spring out of bed rather painfully, "Just don't let Hermione know about us. Don't need her making a scene while the whole family is here." Harry leaned over and grabbed his glasses off the table beside the bed.

            "Uh…Ron, what you talking about? Merlin, what time is it?" Ron sat down beside him and slapped him on the back.

            "So who's lucky girl you where dreaming about? When I walked in here it sounded like you two were really going at it." Harry exhaled, letting his head fall back down on the pillow, fighting away the image of Ginny that still lingered in his head. Ron started grunting and imitating Harry's voice, "Oohhh…I love you so much…ooooo…baby…don't stop…" 

            "Real funny Ron."

            "So tell me, who was it? Was it Cho? Or maybe Lavender?" Harry squeezed his eyes shut and hoped Ron would let the subject drop; he didn't. "Come on mate, tell me. When I first walked in I think I heard a name. Started with a J or a G...come on!"

            "Oh you know no one in particular…just uh…" Ron heard the hesitation in his voice and saw the look of guilt on his friend's face. He jumped up, looking at Harry with the crazed eyes of an overprotective older brother.

            "Oi mate, it better not have been about my sister. Were you dreaming about Ginny? Answer me. Damnit Harry, you'd better turn your fucking head around right now and look at me…"

            "Merlin Ron stop shouting or you'll wake everyone else up. Now what's it to you anyway?"

            "I think I have the right to know if you plan on making a move on my little sister. You know how she felt about you…" Harry cut him off.

            "I've already had this talk thank you very much. I've already assured Charlie that I have no intention of hurting Gin. Ever. Do you even know the reason I chased after her last night? Do you realize how much what YOU said hurt her? I guess Charlie was worried about the wrong person." He sighed and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, propping his head up on his hands. Even though his eyes were closed he could hear Ron turn around and stop his pacing.

            "What do you mean, what I said?" Harry snorted.

            "Last night, after we played chess and I kissed Ginny, do you remember what you said?" he raised his head and looked his friend straight in the eye, "You made her run out the room crying for God's sake. You just had to remind her about that stupid crush she used to have and you told her I'd never love her. Well guess what Ron? Maybe I do love her. It's pretty obvious that I care more about her feelings than you do. I would never do anything I thought would make her cry and I'll be damned if I allow anyone else to do so." Ron couldn't even speak; he just stood paralyzed, thinking over what he had just heard. Finally he sat down beside Harry and spoke.

            "Did you…did you just say that you love her?" Harry nodded.

            "Yeah, I did. Or at least I think I could some day. Look all I know is I care about Ginny more than I ever have about anyone. She's this incredible girl and we've become so close. I know love is a strong word but I really like her Ron." 

            "And what I said last night, it really hurt her that bad?" Harry nodded again, "I fucked up, didn't I mate?" Another nod, "I need to talk to her" He got up and walked over to the door. Before he walked out to the hallway he turned back, "Um…should I not she anything to her? You know, about what you just said?" 

            "Yeah, thanks Ron. I'm not quite sure I'm ready to tell her yet." With that Ron headed down the stairs to Ginny's room.

                                    ********************************

            He knocked lightly and opened the door to find Ginny still sleeping peacefully. He walked over to her bed and sat on the edge, shaking her arm gently.

"Ginny? Ginny, wake up. Hey, Mum made her special Christmas tree waffles…" At the mention of their mother's special once-a-year holiday treat Ginny began to wake up; only to narrow her eyes and clench her jaw before pulling the covers up over her head and turning back over when she saw who else was in her room.

"Ronald please get out of my room," she said tersely through the blanket. Sensing that he was still sitting beside her she sat up and threw the covers off her head. "Are you deaf or just fucking stupid? I said get out. Now leave before Hermione wakes up." Still he sat looking extremely apologetic like puppy that had just eaten the turkey sandwich left on the counter. "Ron I have no desire to talk to you or listen to your half assed excuse for an apology. What you said last night was cruel and unnecessary and I can tell you right now I'm not going to forgive you this easily just so you can get this off your conscience."

"Ginny I know, please just hear what I have to say. I'm an arse. I'm a sorry excuse for a brother. I was an insensitive prat for what I said…" Ginny huffed. 

"Is that what Hermione told you to say? Or maybe Bill told you to come up and apologize? I don't want to hear you just reiterate everything that everyone else told you that you did wrong. If you really want me to forgive you tell me how you feel about what happened. Not what Hermione feels, or Charlie, or Bill or Harry. What you feel."

"I had no idea you still liked Harry. I'm a guy, I mean what do you expect, we don't have a radar for this sort of thing. Maybe Fred and George can create something…hell they'd be richer than the Malfoys. Plus we're siblings. We fight. It's what we do. I know you're closer to Charlie and Bill because they're older and they've always looked out for you and you guys don't tease each other and bicker like we do. I can't help the fact that I thought your crush on Harry was funny as hell, but I had no idea you had real feelings for him…" Ginny cut him off again.

"Who said I have real feelings for Harry? Did Hermione tell you something?"

"Calm down, she didn't say anything. I may be completely dense but I don't think you would have gotten so mad last night if you didn't still have some feelings for him," He put his arm around her and pulled her into a hug, "I'm sorry Ginny. It kills me to know that I'm the reason you were so upset. I promise to be more considerate of your feelings in the future. And if it's any consolation I think Harry really likes you too, and I can't think of any guy better for you than him. I'm not trying to be nosey or anything but I think if you do like him, you should tell him. Okay…I'm done my little speech. Now you don't have to forgive me, but just know that I really am sorry."

Ginny pulled her head up and looked at him a moment. Then she slapped Ron in the arm. "Do you really have to go and make me cry before breakfast? You know my eyes get all red and puffy…" she sniffled and allowed herself to be pulled back into her brother's arms.

"Hey, you're not the only one he's making cry," Hermione sat up and looked over at the pair from her makeshift bed in the corner. She took an edge of the sheet and used it to dab her eyes dry. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to intrude but I was just lying over here and you guys are just so sweet…" She started crying again. Ginny nudged Ron forward and he walked over to other bed giving the other girl a hug as well.

"No intrusion here. You're beautiful when you're crying you know," he lifted his hand and brushed away a tear rolling down her cheek, "Now we should really get downstairs. It would be a shame for you to miss out on Mum's waffles. She makes them the muggle way and she uses this little tree cutter thing and puts berries in the mix so they look like Christmas bulbs!" Hermione was still crying a little so she walked across the hall into the bathroom for some tissues, leaving Ginny and Ron waiting for her.

"So do you accept my apology?" Ron pouted his bottom lip out and asked.

"I forgive you Ron. Now…race you to the table."


	13. Twas The Morning of the Night before Chr...

Disclaimer: The only thing that's mine is the plot. And if you really, really, really want it you can have it…if you want to beg and plead and say pretty, pretty please with a cherry on top. Even then I make no promises.

A/N: Ducks from pens and cans and televisions and anything else being thrown at me I know I haven't updated in forever, I'm sorry it's taking soooo long! Just a little warning though, with my classes being what they are, I probably won't be updating again for a while…just too much real stuff to take care of. I apologize in advance, but want to let you know that I'm trying to type up the rest of the story when I have the time.

Another note, in response to some reviews that I've been left. Firstly I know I haven't exactly made everyone's ages very clear in this, so I'll do it now…Harry and friends are 16, almost 17 and Ginny is 15, so it's not following the ages in the books. Because yes, if they were 11 and 12 that would be wrong and gross and that's not what I'm going for. Also I know some of the things in this seem very 'American' that's mostly because I've never been anywhere else and don't wanna offend anyone by screwing with their culture, (The only things I know about England are from watching Month Python). But if anyone who does have experience with England or whatever, and you have any ideas of how I could make it not so American…please e-mail me and let me know! I would love to improve on this story any way I can! Exhales Okay now that I'm done with all that, on with the story.  

            T'was the Morning of the Night before Christmas

            "Harry…are you still up? Harrryyyy, Har…ommpff" Ginny tripped over a pile of dirty clothes and landed besides Harry's bed with a loud thump.

            _Way to go Gin, graceful as a baby hippo…oh god, please tell me that's Harry's leg my hand landed on!_

In the process of helping herself off the floor Ginny had grabbed a hold to the bed, but luckily, once she was on her feet again, she had grabbed onto Harry's arm and not...

            _That would have been disastrous. First the bathroom, now this. How much longer is this break supposed to be? At least he's still asleep._

            Ginny took a few seconds to compose herself before gently rousing Harry from his sleep.

"Hey Gin. Damn, is it morning already?" He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and sat up groggily, reaching out for his glasses. His hair was sticking up in all directions, and there was a bright red imprint on his cheek where he had fallen asleep on his hand. He shifted his body so that there was enough room and motioned for Ginny to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Um, well it is morning, two o'clock in the morning to be exact. Now before you throw me out for waking you at this ungodly hour, I have something for you…"

            flashback

            Knowing it was better to give than receive Ginny left the robe shop in search for Harry's gift. She had half hour left before she was supposed to meet Colin to head back up to school.

            _This is what I get for putting off my Christmas shopping till the last minute. If I get back to school and Hermione finds out I still haven't finished my buying I'll have to listen to another one of her lectures…sweet Merlin…I don't think I can handle that. _

As she was trying to think of valid excuses as to why she hadn't gotten Harry's gift yet she caught a glimpse of Lavender and Pavarati walking towards her. As nice as they were, Ginny could hardly stand to spend more than five minutes with them. She knew that if they spotted her they would want to walk back to school together, blabbing about their latest crushes the whole way. Quickly she ducked into the nearest store.

            "Hello dear. May I help you with something today?" A small, frail looking witch hobbled out from behind the counter, "Perhaps you are still needing to do some holiday shopping? Perhaps for a certain close friend?  A boy maybe?" Quite frankly the woman was creeping Ginny out, but as she did still need a gift and could still see Lavender and Pavarati lurking around outside, she decided to poke around the shop.

            "Um…I actually am looking for a gift for someone. My friend Harry. I'm afraid I'm going to get him a totally crap present. I looked through all the other shops but I just can't seem to find anything right." The old woman gently took hold of Ginny's arm and guided her down one of the isles.

            "This friend of yours, this Harry, what is he like? Maybe he likes Quiddich? But no, he'll probably be getting enough Quiddich-related gifts this year. Probably many books as well, perhaps from another close friend," she reached up to replace a book on the shelf, then proceeded to the back of the store, "This Harry, what would be the one thing he truly desires? Ah, here…perhaps this could be the gift." She crouched down to the lowest shelf and pulled out a dusty looking box.

            "How did you know that about him? About the Quiddich and the books?" Ginny looked at the box suspiciously.

            "I know many things my child. And I have a feeling that this is the right gift for your friend." She blew the dust off the top of the box and lifted the lid. As soon as she peered inside she knew that it was the perfect gift, and she had just enough time to get it ready.

            end flashback

            "So, I hope you like it. Um…I don't know why I just didn't wait and give this to you tomorrow, but I don't know, I guess I didn't really want to give it to you in front of everyone. Here you go." Ginny stopped babbling and handed over the box that she had wrapped with a shiny green aluminum paper.

            "Thanks Gin. Hmm, wonder what it is? Too small to be a book, thank Merlin. I'm sure I'll get enough of those tomorrow from Hermione. Kinda heavy too," he pulled on the red satin ribbon and lifted the lid off the box, "Gin? Is this…is this what I think it is? I mean, how did you even get one? This must have cost you a fortune." Inside the box sat a pensieve, just like the one he had seen in Dumbledore's office a few years before. The basin was lined with small green gems that perfectly matched the color of his eyes. He lifted it out of the box and sat it on the bed between Ginny and himself.

            "I don't know what to say Ginny. Wow…I mean how could you afford something like this? I know they can be useful, but I thought they were mostly for men like Dumbledore, you know, with a lot of important things on their minds." Harry was obviously still in shock.

            "Well I know they can be good for dreams and the like. I thought maybe if you had anymore of your nightmares you could store them in here, maybe you'd finally get a decent night's sleep." Ginny blushed lightly, remembering that night fondly.

            _I don't need this to get rid of my nightmares Ginny, all I need is you…_Harry thought to himself before Ginny began to speak again.

            "But that's not all. I mean that's one thing you can use it for. Actually I thought of that later…there's actually more to it. I mean when I walked in the store I had no idea and then this old lady came up to me and she must have been a seer or something and she showed me this and I got this idea and I know it's probably stupid but when I just got this idea and I'm not quite sure if it worked right but…" Harry brought his hand up and cupped her cheek.

            "Gin, you're babbling again. And it's not stupid. I love it. Now what where you trying to say?"

            Ginny took a deep breath and tried to ignore the feeling of Harry's warm hand on her cheek, "Well it's kind of hard to explain. You know how to see the images right?" Harry nodded, "Then go ahead, look into the pensieve."

            Ginny held her breath as Harry looked at her confused. She urged him on and leaned forward, feeling himself falling into the silvery pool. When he opened his eyes he was on the Hogwarts Express. He saw bunches of kids milling around but didn't recognize any of them. Suddenly he spotted a tall redheaded girl boarding the train. Then he saw four young boys run past her with some Filibuster Fireworks that were spraying glitter everywhere. One of the boys, the one with unruly black hair stopped in front of the girl and brushed some of the glitter off her face.  The picture switched again and now Harry was in the crowded stands at the Quiddich pitch full of students cheering as the same dark haired boy caught the snitch while a boy who was the spitting image of Draco Malfoy chased after him. The image changed once more and when he opened his eyes what he saw almost made his heart stop.

He was at his parents wedding. He could see his father standing near a younger Professor Dumbledore, Sirius on his left, watching his mother walk down the aisle. He turned around and looked at the faces of the small group of people standing in front of him. He spotted Hagrid first, then some members he recognized from the Order of the Phoenix. He also saw Neville Longbottom's parents; they were standing next to Professor Lupin. Before he had a chance to pick out anyone else the picture changed one last time. He was standing in the doorway of what appeared to be a nursery. In the corner his mother stood in front of a rocking chair facing the window. His father walked up behind her and placed his arms around her waist. Walking closer Harry was able to look around his father to see what his mother carried in her arms. It was him, not more than a few days old.

Suddenly Harry felt himself being pulled back to reality. When he opened his eyes again they were wet with tears and he was sitting on his bed beside Ginny, a worried expression on her face.

"Oh gods, it didn't work did it. I knew I should have gotten some more help with it. I'm so sorry Harry. I promise I'll…" He cut her off by wrapping his hand behind her neck and pulling her into a searing kiss. A moment later he stopped the full force assault on her lips and just pulled her against his chest.

            "I just have one question, how did you manage to do that? Did Hermione help you out? Did your Mum?"

            "No I managed to find a spell that could duplicate memories. Then I visited Professor Lupin and had him help me out. That's his memory of the wedding. The train is from Dumbledore and then Bill's from the Quiddich game. The one with you is from Hagrid. Some other members of the Order helped me out. Tonks nearly broke down in hysterics when I told her what I was doing. Lupin spent a good hour trying to calm her down. I didn't even know if it would work right. I didn't try it out myself first, I didn't want to intrude or anything and I know you weren't in there long but I think there's a lot more in there, I was just worried, so I brought you out."

            "This means more to me than anything I've ever received Gin. And you wouldn't have been intruding. After all, I wouldn't even have this if it wasn't for you. Maybe, if you want, you could come with me sometime. I'd really like for you to meet my parents…well not really meet, but you know what I mean.

            "I'd really like that too Harry," Ginny smiled at the sight of a beaming Harry, "You know, I should probably get back to my room. I just wanted to give this to you now. It's kinda personal and I didn't know if you'd want to open something like that in front of my whole family. So when you open your other gift tomorrow morning…just act surprised. Okay?"

            "Two gifts? Gin you didn't have to do that." Harry gave her a look, after all, he knew she had a lot of people to get gifts for and he felt bad that maybe someone else had gotten the shaft on their gift. Ginny, on the other hand, just laughed.

            "Don't worry, it's nothing. I just needed to find something so Mum would leave me alone. I didn't tell her about the pensieve so I had to find something that I could give you in front of the family. Although I don't think she'll be very pleased when she sees the other gift I came up with."

            Harry laughed, "Would this happen to be the same sort of inappropriate gift someone gave Hermione for her birthday last year?" Ginny nodded with a wicked grin on her face. The 'gift' Hermione had received had been passed around Gryffindor tower as a gag gift after she said she wanted no part of it. The last recipient had been a young girl in Ginny's year named Anastasia and Harry had no doubt that Ginny had bargained with the girl for this particular item…after all Harry had been the one who originally gave it to Hermione to begin with. "Just don't ever let Ron know I was the one who started that whole thing, okay? If he ever found out I gave that gift to his girlfriend he would kick my arse nine ways to Sunday." 

            "You're right. Although I'm sure he could find a couple of uses for it now. Eww…bad mental image. Anyway, I should probably get back downstairs before Hermione wakes up. I'm glad you liked your gift Harry." They both rose off the bed and walked to the door. Ginny wrapped her arms around Harry in a hug and kissed him softly on the lips. "Good night Harry."

            Ginny shut the door quietly behind her and she tiptoed back downstairs, hoping the door wouldn't squeak when she opened it and wake Hermione. It didn't and as she curled underneath her covers she silently thanked the old woman from the store for the best Christmas gift ever – allowing her to bring a little of Harry's parents back to him.


	14. Goofy Grins and Girl Talks

Disclaimer: The only things I own are the plot bunnies running around in my head.

A/N: So I'm back…well somewhat. Classes are over and summer is here and I've had these chapters completed but my internet died and I just recently got a new service. So I'm posting these chapters not, but I'm still having some serious issues with the story in general, as in I don't really know how to keep going. I'm lost and since this is the first multi-chapter story I've done it's hard to tell where my stopping point should be. I kind of feel like this is nearing the end. But I hate the fact that I made anyone who's been waiting for the next installment wait for this. So I'm asking you, the readers, what I should do. What do you all think? Should it end here? Should I keep going? Should I write a sequel and if so what would you like to see happen?

Anyway, to make up for this entirely too long wait I have two chapters for you and I hope you enjoy them!

Chapter 14 – Goofy Grins and Girl Talks

Although Ginny had stayed up most of the night, first worrying that Harry wouldn't like her gift and then giddy over the fact that she had been able to make him so happy, she felt quite refreshed the next morning.          All through breakfast she did the best she could to not burst out in song every time Harry's hand brushed hers reaching for the orange juice or the butter. It was much of the same throughout the rest of the day; although Fred and George started elbowing each other whenever they caught Harry staring at Ginny or Ron staring at Hermione for that matter. It was okay for them because everyone knew about Ron and Hermione, but Ginny was wary of letting anyone know what had conspired between Harry and herself.

_I know Bill has said he was okay with it, the twins probably won't care, Mum'll be ecstatic, and Percy will probably say it's a reasonable match, but what if it doesn't work out…what exactly are we anyway? Are we just friends who have occasional snogging sessions, is he my boyfriend, are we a couple now? _

While Ginny pondered over what to call what she and Harry had, she heard Mrs. Weasley call everybody to the table since supper was ready. Bill and Charlie conjured a few more chairs, since Fred and George had invited Angelina and Alicia for dinner, bringing the grand total of people in the Burrow to fourteen. Ginny walked in and managed to grab a seat in between Ron and Harry, who clasped her hand in his after she sat down.

"You look beautiful, Gin," he leaned in and whispered in her ear, giving her hand a light squeeze under the table. She pulled her head back and gave him a smile and hoped that no one would drop a napkin or fork ad see their fingers intertwined and resting on her thigh. Luckily that didn't happen, but Harry did notice how Charlie raised his eyebrow whenever Harry accidentally bumped his arm into Percy, who was sitting to his left. After all, it was hard to eat with his left hand since his right hand was busy elsewhere.

After the meal was over and the dishes were washing themselves in the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley brought out dessert and Mr. Weasley tried to get everyone to sing along with some Christmas carols that he was playing on a muggle CD player he had brought home from work. Everyone was reluctant to join in but after having some warm apple strudel and butterbeer Fred and George finally started singing along with their father.

"You know Alicia, Angelina…I'm sure Mr. and Mrs. Weasley would forgive you if you cut out a little bit early. This must be horrifying for you two to watch," Harry told his former Quiddich teammates, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves so much that they joined in too, getting up and dancing with the twins. They were joined moments later by Percy and Penelope who started waltzing around the two couples.

"What do you say, Ginny? Care for a dance?" Bill walked over and held out his hand which Ginny quickly accepted. She also grabbed a hold of Ron, who was shaking his head rapidly and trying to sit back down until he saw the look on Hermione's face.

"Oh bloody hell. Fine, let's dance 'Mione." They danced like this for a while; Ron stealing Angelina away from George for a quick spin, Hermione pulling Charlie up from his chair, and Harry even pulling Mrs. Weasley out on the floor for a bit. Suddenly the music changed and a soft, slow, romantic song came on.

"Mind if I cut in, son?" Harry released Mrs. Weasley and watched as Mr. Weasley took his wife in his arms. He backed over to the couch and watched as the rest of the existing pairs at the Burrow split apart from their current partners and got back together; Ron with Hermione, Fred with Alicia, George with Angelina…

"Not so fast Mr. Potter," Ginny came up from behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him back out, "I don't feel like sitting down quite yet." Harry was more than happy to comply and they joined everyone else spinning around the room.

Slowly the evening worn on and the music died down and eventually only Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were left in the living room. Mrs. Weasley finished picking up the empty dessert dish and asked them if they needed anything.

"No, we're good. I think we're going to stay down here for a little Mum," Ron said as he hunted around the room for a stack of exploding snap cards so he and Harry could play a game.

"Alright. Goodnight dears, don't stay up too late," Mrs. Weasley said she headed up the steps.

"Do I even want to know why the hell were you on Ronald's bed…wait…why the hell were you biting my brother's nipple? Oh that is disgusting!"

          "It wasn't like that, Ginny. It wasn't even me. He fell off the bed onto one of the silly dolls of his! That's how the mark got there!"

          "They are not dolls, Hermione! They are miniature replicas of the Chudley Cannons players!" Ron shouted from the other side of the room, where he was still playing exploding snap with Harry. Harry looked over as well, throwing a quick smile and a wink at Ginny before going back to his game.

          "Oh come off it Ronald, they're dolls and you know it," Hermione turned back to Ginny, her voice lowered, "Now what was that all about?"

          "What was what all about?" Hermione cocked her head over to where Harry was sitting.

          "Exactly what is going on between Harry and you now? I mean after last night when you guys….when he kissed you? And now with the smiles and the looks." The girls scooted closer together and Ginny took another glance over her shoulder to see that Harry was indeed watching her again.

          "Well, he followed me upstairs and apologized."

          "Apologized? Apologized how? What did he say? Both of you have had these stupid grins on your faces all day…"

          "You mean like the stupid grin you get on your face whenever my dear, sweet brother is around you?" Ginny threw right back at her.

          "Bugger, do I really get a stupid grin?" Ginny pointed to the mirror on the wall between where the boys and they were sitting and sure enough both girls were wearing identical goofy-looking grins. They collapsed into a fit of giggles only pausing after they heard Ron and Harry mocking them from across the room.

          "You two are so annoying. Do you know that? Come on Hermione, let's go upstairs." They left the boys and headed up to Ginny's room. Ginny sat down on the edge of her bed while Hermione stood in front of her, hands on her hips.

          "Okay, now as you were saying. What happened when he apologized?"

          "Well he followed me upstairs and I was just so mad at Ron, I was crying and yelling and trying to just get back in my room and Harry came up behind me. Here I was all red eyed and puffy cheeked, but he just pulled me away from the door and then he kissed me. Merlin Hermione, it was just so…" Ginny sighed and fell back onto the bed.

          "I know what you mean. When I kissed Ron the first time in front of all your family it was just eh…but after that he pulled me into his room right before bed and he took me in his arms…" She was interrupted when Ginny quickly sat up and practically flew off the bed.

          "First the nipple biting and now this, Hermione, you know I love you but I do not need to know my brother's snogging habits! I think that's something that should just stay between you and him for right now." Ginny laughed and sat back down, crossing her legs and leaning against her headboard.    

            "Sorry Ginny, I just got a little carried away there. But it's just, well…it's like what you feel with Harry. Speaking of which, what did you end up getting him for Christmas? I got Ron a box of assorted candies and chocolates from Honeydukes, but now that we're sort of together I wish I had thought of something else, something more meaningful."

          Ginny wondered if she should tell Hermione about the gift she had given Harry earlier in the day, or if she should leave it up to him to share, but in the end she caved. She told Hermione about shopping with Colin and about how she ran into the old witch in the shop. As soon as she mentioned the pensieve Hermione's mouth dropped and asked her how she could afford such a thing.

          "I only had a few galleons left, but the old witch seemed intent on me having it. She told me that money should be no object when it comes to our loved ones and she then claimed that there was special sale going on," she explained. Ginny continued talking about how she had found the memory duplicating spell in one of her books, one Hermione had given her incidentally enough, and how she had gone to Professor Lupin for help. When she got the part about actually giving Harry the gift she uncrossed her legs, pulled them up to her chest and got just a little quieter.

          "You should have seen the look on his face, Hermione. I've never seen him like that. He asked me if I wanted to take a look too, but I was afraid that if I saw him in there watching his parents, it would be too perfect to leave," she finished they both sat silently for a moment.

          "I knew something was going on when you came back in here at two in the morning," Hermione said, getting up and moving over to her bed. Ginny looked at her friend in shock. "Did you actually think I couldn't hear you float back into the room? The door didn't shut as quietly as you'd have hoped."

          Ginny just shrugged her shoulders, temporarily lost in the memory of the morning and the passionate kiss Harry and she had shared. She had purposefully left that detail out, because as close as Hermione and Harry were, she didn't think Hermione would want to hear about Harry anymore than Ginny wanted to hear about Ron. So sliding herself under the covers she just replayed the memory for herself, drifting off into a very sweet dream.


	15. Of Fairies and Snowflakes

Disclaimer: Two tickets to see the latest Harry Potter movie…$18. One lawn seat ticket to see James Taylor (my favorite musician EVER)…$50. Me finally getting this chapter out…priceless. And if I owed any of this (the characters, the song, this cheesy discover card commercial format) I'd be getting paid for putting it out…and I wouldn't have to worry about paying for the previous two items.

A/N: Okay here's the second part of the update, and it will probably be the last chapter for this story, but it's really long so I hope that makes up for it. I know the song seems kinda odd for the story but I love it none the less and I was listening to the other night as I was laying out back watching the fireflies and stars, all of which provided my inspiration for this ball of marshmallow fluff I'm calling a chapter. Actually at first this story didn't even occur to me…it was more my own imagination running wild whilst thinking about a certain guy from my past…so more of the credit should actually go to _him_, who meant more to me and changed my life in more ways than he'll ever know J

Chapter 15 – Of Fairies and Snowflakes

          _And here I thought that day last week when everyone was arriving would be the craziest it got this break…what the hell was I thinking…_

It was Christmas morning at the Burrow and Ginny could barely hear herself think. Her parents had this tradition that had actually started the year Ron was born, that none of the kids could open any presents until both of them had finished a steaming hot cup of tea. Of course they had charmed their mugs so that they were always full and even now that all of the kids were older Mr. and Mrs. Weasley still enjoyed sitting at the table, making small talk while all their kids waited impatiently. So while her parents and Bill and Charlie (who probably enjoyed torturing their younger siblings more than their parents) sat around the kitchen table and drank their tea Percy, Penelope, Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny all waited in the living room surrounded by stacks of presents.  

          "Don't worry mate, Mum usually only lasts about an hour before she caves in," Ron explained to Harry as they looked around at the different gifts, trying to guess which ones were theirs. Harry, still in awe over the gift Ginny had given him the previous morning, had gotten a gift for Ginny when he accompanied Mrs. Weasley and Hermione to muggle London and he hoped she would love it as much as he had loved his gift.

          "Honestly Ron do you have to shake all the boxes? There might be something breakable in those," Hermione plucked a large, rather crumpled orange and green gift (no doubt wrapped by one of the twins) out of Ron's hands while he childishly stuck his tongue out at her.

          "Gee 'Mione, and here I thought when you two got together things would change," Ron picked up a pillow and tossed it at Harry's head. He retaliated by taking on of Ginny's slippers off her foot and lobbing it back in Ron's direction. Unfortunately it missed Ron and hit Bill, who had chosen that moment to walk back into the living room.          

          "Sorry Bill," Harry said sheepishly, "I was aiming at Ron."

          "Oh, well in that case…" Bill picked up the slipper off the floor and whacked Ron in the head with it, making Ginny giggle.

          "What are you laughing at ickle Ginny? Shouldn't you be off snogging Harry in a closet somewhere?" At which point Ginny pulled off her other slipper and hit Ron squarely in the face.

          "Now what's going on in here? We leave you children alone for a couple minutes so we can enjoy a spot of tea," Mr. Weasley walked in with his arm around his wife's shoulder, followed by Charlie a minute later.

          "Ron was being an ignorant prat Daddy. Trust me, he deserved it," Ginny said with her sweetest smile as she gave a father a quick hug before sitting down next to Hermione.

          "Alright, pumpkin. You know what though; I think I could go for another cup of tea," he made a motion to go back into the kitchen but was pulled forcefully over to the sofa.

          "Oh Arthur, now we've made the kids wait long enough. You can drink your tea in here if you're so thirsty." This caused everyone to have a nice little laugh before they began opening presents.

          "I told you I didn't get you any books this year, Ron," Hermione said after Ron had opened her gift.

          "You're absolutely right. Thanks 'Mione," he leaned over and gave his girlfriend a quick peck on the cheek. "Okay the next one here is for Bill."

          Bill's gift actually turned out to be a magical pacifier that was supposed to help lull a baby to sleep almost instantly and one of Mrs. Weasley's famous knitted jumpers that was tiny enough for an infant. It was obvious to everyone that the gift had been wrapped and set under the tree before Bill's big announcement a few nights ago, but Bill assured his mother that he would have use for the items some day. Mr. Weasley received a box chock full of plugs that Harry had brought from the Dursley's, and when Hermione opened up Ron's present she jumped up and threw her arms around his neck, squeezing him tight.

          "You know, you are the only person I know who could get excited over knapsack," Harry said.

          "It's not just any knapsack. It's the one from Flourish and Blotts that I've had my eyes on! It can fit up to ten books without expanding or getting all heavy! Mmm, thank you Ron. It's the best gift ever!" Hermione gave him another squeeze while Ginny picked up the next gift. 

          "Let's see, this one is from Charlie to…me. Hmm, I wonder what it could be?" She pulled the paper off to reveal a tiny black and brown teddy bear with a red bow tied around its neck. Puzzled she looked up at her brother for an explanation.

          "Oy! Ginny, looks like there's something on that ribbon," Ron leaned over to get a closer look, "See there, it says…hmmm, it just says 'Merry Christmas'," All of a sudden Ginny was engulfed in a small cloud of smoke and there was loud pop. Then there was an earsplitting scream.

"CHARLLLIIIEEEE!!!!!! Oh thank you Charlie! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Ginny jumped up and into her brother's lap, throwing her arms around him and placing kisses all over his face.

          "I've had it for a while, but Mum wouldn't let me give it to you at the beginning of the year…" But Ginny wasn't paying attention, for in her lap sat a brand-new Firebolt 2.0; the newest, fastest, best performing broom on the market.

          "Wow Gin, no one will be able to out fly you now, well except maybe me," Harry joked as everyone gathered around to see Ginny's gift.

          "None of those Slytherin prats will and that's what matters most! With Harry going after the snitch, Ron protecting those posts and you as Chaser on that thing there's no way Gryffindor can lose the Cup this year. What'd you say Dad?" Fred said as things started to calm down.  

          "You know you make us proud every time you go out and play dear, win or lose." Mr. Weasley ruffled his daughter's hair as she calmed down and took a seat between him and Charlie, still clutching her new broom.

          Harry and Hermione had both chipped in and bought Mrs. Weasley a lovely set of knitting needles, which they had purchased in London while she had gone to the little girl's room and Hermione had later charmed so that the yarn being knitted would automatically change color so only one ball of yarn would be needed for any one project.   

          Penelope, in the spirit of their upcoming nuptials, had picked out the perfect gift for Percy. It was a small cream colored notebook engraved with both of their names on the cover.

          "It's a special wedding planning notebook sweetie. We can plan everything to the most minor detail. Look there's a miniature diagram to plan out the seating, and even a spot to write down the exact dimension specifications of the venue!"

Beaming, Percy leaned over and placed the neatest of kisses on his fiancés cheek. "I love it darling. And I love you."

          The next gift had a tag addressed to Harry, but Hermione recognized it as the box with the hideous radioactive orange and vomit green paper that Ron had been looking at earlier. She warned Harry that the gift was from the twins and after Mr. Weasley looked it over thoroughly the gift was deemed safe. It turned out to be a very nice case specially made to house his invisibility cloak. Strangely enough the rest of the twins' gifts turned out to safe too. For a change there were no lotions that turned your skin blue, or boxers that made the wearer break out and sing 'I'm a Little Teapot'. Although when Ron implied that they were losing their touch now that they were important businessmen running their own joke shop Ginny saw a glint in George's eye that said the new owl cage he'd received for Pig probably had some tricks up its sleeve.

"Okay, this one here is 'To Miss Virginia Weasley'," Charlie said, passing the gift to his right, where Ginny was now sitting on the floor besides the couch. The present was wrapped in a shimmery silver paper that had pictures of snowflakes that were charmed to spin around on it. Unlike with all her previous gifts she took her time opening this one, carefully setting the paper down.

          "Well look at that dear, now I wonder what that could be?" Mrs. Weasley asked with a knowing smile, peering over her daughter's shoulder into the small black velvet box. She nudged Hermione, who was looking rather impatient, as Ginny opened it. Inside on a bed of light silvery material sat a silver chain with a small teardrop diamond hanging from the middle. "Now isn't that pretty, who's it from sweetie?"

          "It's from…" Ginny dug through the other crumbled paper around her to find where the card had gotten to, "…aha, it's from…it's from Harry. Thank you Harry, it's beautiful." She got up from off the floor and walked over to _their_ _chair _(as she had come to think of it) where, in front of her whole family none the less, sat down on Harry's lap, took his face in her hands and kissed him square on the lips. For just a moment all other conversation in the living room paused, but when Bill finally broke the silence it seemed that no one was particularly surprised.

          "Finally."

          "It's about damn time."

          "The necklace really is lovely."

          "Merlin, is that a real diamond Harry? That must have cost a fortune."

          "Ronald, don't ask things like that."

          "So does this mean you and our little Ginnikins are in loooove?"

          "Oooo….Harry and Ginny sittin' in a tree…"

          "Fred must you be so immature?"

          While the rest of the Weasleys were busy talking about this long-time-coming development in the lives of the two teens, Harry pulled the necklace from the box, placed it around Ginny's neck and spoke very quietly as he closed the silver clasp, "Merry Christmas Gin. Oh, and don't tell Ron this, but it is real…" Ginny's eyes lit up in shock and Harry could tell she was getting ready to scold him for spending so much on one silly little gift, "…and don't even say it. You are totally and completely worth it…just don't let Ron know." When Ginny went to open her mouth again Harry brought a finger to her lips and Ginny sighed in resignation.

          "Don't worry, I won't. Merry Christmas Harry," she reached up for another kiss but saw Harry sort of nudging his chin in the direction of the necklace box, "What now you git? Here I am trying to properly thank you and…what the hell is wrong with your head? Was something in those candies the twins gave you?" He rolled his eyes and took the box from her, opening it back up and placing it in her hands.

          Ginny looked up and locked eyes with Harry, who was biting on his lower lip in a way that she found deliciously endearing; then glanced back down. She ran her eyes over the box again and suddenly spotted a small sliver of paper protruding from corner of the box. She caught Harry's eyes again, letting him know she had found what he was hinting at. Making sure that everyone else was preoccupied Ginny slowly pried the base of the box up just enough to pull out the slip of paper. In Harry's simple script was written a short message:

Edge of the woods. Midnight.

-H

          She hoped no one would notice the blush rising in her cheeks as she saw that Harry was grinning like a fool. Ginny returned it with a shy smile of her own as she placed the note back in the necklace box, away from the prying eyes of her family.

          "Head's up George, here's another one with your name." Bill tossed another wrapped gift in his brother's direction. Some more gifts were passed around and Ginny went through the motions of opening the rest of hers, but sitting in the lap of the boy she had loved for so long, her mind was more than a little preoccupied.

          Midnight could come soon enough for Ginny as she waited for the clock to strike twelve.

_It's like the reverse of that silly Cinderella story we read in Muggle Studies. Instead of dreading __midnight__ I can't wait for it! Oh well, as long as I don't kick him in the face like I did the last time…how stupid was I to be nervous that day, thinking he was gonna tell me he loved me…oh shit, what if that's what he wants to tell me now? I mean he did get me that incredible necklace, it must have cost a lot…bollocks, he probably thinks I'm gonna have sex with him now, I know how most guys think…but Harry's not like most guys, he's sweet and he's funny and he's smart…and anyway, I doubt he's the kind of guy that would do it out in the woods…_

The soft chime of the clock in the corner of her room broke Ginny out of her reverie. Getting ready she looked over to make sure Hermione was still sleeping soundly and once assuring herself her friend was indeed asleep she quickly tiptoed out the door. The steps were a little more difficult to navigate; having the requisite creaking floorboards that usually alerted many a parent to a child sneaking out. Ginny however, unlike most teenagers who always seem to step of the wrong step and awake half the house, had an advantage – a map similar the Marauder's Map that Fred and George had created for her for her 13th birthday.

          The map wasn't as advanced as the Marauder's was. It was only capable of showing where her Mum and Dad were, but it did include which steps and floorboards to avoid, which windows were always unlocked and three of the best routes for sneaking out of the Burrow without alerting anyone. Using the map Ginny carefully hopped down the steps and made her way out through the kitchen door. Once she was outside she pulled the tie to her night robe more tightly and proceeded to the edge of the woods where she saw Harry waiting for her.

          He too was still in his pajamas, although she was sure the flannel pants and oversized sweatshirt were far warmer than her thin nightgown and robe. He was looking down at the ground and rubbing his hands together. Although to anyone else it may have looked like he was doing it to keep warm, Harry knew it was actually out of nerves. He was incredibly nervous; to the point of almost being physically sick. Hermione insisted that Ginny would adore anything he did.

          _Okay…I can do this, Hermione said as long as it was from the heart Ginny would love it…I can't believe I actually has the balls to ask Hermione about this…I just hope she didn't tell Ginny anything after they went upstairs…Merlin, what if she did tell Gin about what I was planning…It's almost midnight and she isn't here yet…what if Hermione told her and now she thinks I'm some sad, sappy, pansy…she's probably upstairs right now having a good laugh about this…thinking about what she'll tell all her friends when she gets back to school…oh bloody hell, it'll start out in Gryffindor, then it'll go to Hufflepuff and then Ravenclaw and it's only a matter of time before it reaches Slytherin…God, when Malfoy hears about it I'm sure he'll have a jolly good effing time then…_

The sound of the snow crunching beneath someone's feet brought Harry out of his daze. He looked up and saw a shock of red hair concealed under the hood of the lavender robe Ginny had received that morning. His fear of looking like a fool vanishing with each step she took towards him, her smile radiating.

          "Way to be cryptic Potter, 'edge of the woods' and 'midnight', what are we in some harlequin muggle romance novel or something?" She joked as she approached him, pulling him in for a quick kiss, dissipating any of his remaining nerves. She gripped his hand tightly as she began to try and walk through the trees, confused when he stayed grounded.

          "Nuh, uh, uh…not so fast, one last thing I have to do," he produced his bulky gold and crimson Gryffindor scarf from his pocket, and held it up for Ginny to see, "Do you trust me Gin?" he asked. She gave him a smirk and nodded, then turned around so he could tie the makeshift blindfold behind her head. Once it was secured tightly Harry grabbed a hold of her hand again and led her through the woods. 

          "So aren't you even going to give me the slightest hint of what we're doing out here? Pretty, pretty please???" She pouted and turned her head to where she assumed Harry was. Underneath the scarf she could hear him laugh, "How about I guess and you tell me if I'm hot or cold? Okay…is it bigger than a breadbox? Can I take it back to school with me? Is it a puppy? Oooo…I know what it is, you are going to take me away to Paris where we'll have a romantic dinner and make love till dawn!" Harry's head shot up and he was thankful that Ginny couldn't see him, for with her last comment his face had turned a lovely shade of red…lovely for a tomato that is.

          _If only you knew Ginny, and you didn't have any older brothers who would hunt me down because no matter how 'okay' they are with us being together I doubt they would approve of what we would do together_.

He turned to Ginny and saw the look of mock-seriousness on the uncovered portion of her face and decided to go along with it.

 "Depends Gin, is that what you want? You know I still have some money stashed away in my trunk..." Now it was Ginny's turn to blush until she heard Harry try and suppress his laughter. She nudged him with her shoulder, and he responded with a nudge of his own back. The pair fell into a comfortable silence as they continued walking until Ginny suddenly lurched forward, tripping over one of the ends of Harry's scarf. She giggled as she tried to feel around for the hand that she knew Harry had stretched out in aid.

          "You couldn't have found a smaller scarf, could you have? This bloody thing is far too big to be wrapped around my petit head. You're just trying to make me look like a fool, aren't you Harry?" Ginny did look quite ridiculous as she stood back up, the great wool scarf being so long that the excess trailed down her back and tangled in her legs.

          "Absolutely right Gin. This has been my master plan all along. Blindfold you, lure you out into the woods, and take horribly embarrassing pictures of you. Which are then going to be taken back to school and distributed so that every…" He wasn't prepared when she took a playful swing at him and actually hit him. He was surprised at how good her aim was blindfolded, but unfortunately her feet weren't as lucky and she tripped over a tree root. Harry managed to catch her before she tumbled to the ground.

          "Can't you just take this silly thing off me Harry? I promise to keep my eyes shut. I don't like not being able to see where I'm walking." Luckily for her, they had already reached their destination. He paused and walked around behind her so that he could unwrap the scarf. When Ginny was finally able to open her eyes, she gasped.

          "Oh my god, Harry, this is…its incredible! When did you…how did you...it's beautiful." She covered her mouth with her hand as she took in her surroundings. They were standing underneath the tree house, which had glistening icicles dangling from its platform. Beneath them the ground had been cleared free of the snow that had fallen earlier and a large circle had been formed on the ground using boughs from a nearby pine tree. More icicles hung down the lower branches of the trees that surrounded them and all of the smaller trees and bushes around the circle were covered with a light dusting of snow; each full of hundreds of tiny blinking white lights which illuminated the entire area.

          "Fairies. You see I could've gotten a great deal of some muggle holiday lights when I went into London with your Mum the other day, but I kinda liked these better," he spoke softly in her ear as he stood behind her, bringing his arms up to wrap around her waist, "What'd you think Gin?" His hot breath on her neck causing the butterflies to start working double-time in her stomach.

          She could only nod, being slightly preoccupied by the things Harry was doing to her neck and ear lobe.         

"Well, I'm glad you like it." Ginny decided that if she had to feel his lips caress the back of her neck one more time she was sure her legs would give out, so she slowly turned to face the boy behind her.

          "I love it. I think it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

          "None of this compares to you though…" His words trailed off as he lowered his mouth to hers, capturing it in a searing kiss. As Ginny began to work her hands up his back, tangling one in his messy black hair and allowing the other to rest on his shoulder, the kiss deepened even more. Harry kept one arm around Ginny's waist, pulling her closer, and brought the other one around, fumbling slightly, to pull out his wand. When they parted to take a breath Harry took the opportunity to lift his head and cast an incantation. Ginny looked up as well, and then heard the soft strains of music begin to rise.

          Harry tucked his wand back into his pocket before taking both of Ginny's hands and placing them around his neck, then placing his own back around her. Ginny lowered her head against Harry's shoulder and then began to sway back and forth to the soothing sound of the guitar and sax coming from…well, Ginny wasn't sure where it was coming from but she could have cared less once she felt the hands on her back start to rub small lazy circles.

Do me wrong,

Do me right,

Tell me lies but hold me tight

Save your goodbyes for the morning light

But don't let me be lonely tonight

Say goodbye and say hello

Sure enough good to see you

But it's time to go

Don't say yes but please don't say no

I don't want to be lonely tonight

          "I do believe that this is by far the best Christmas ever." Ginny tilted her head to the side, placing light feathery kisses up Harry's neck.

          "Even if it's not a romantic dinner in Paris?" Just as his hands on her back was mesmerizing Ginny, the scent of the lavender shampoo he was breathing in was intoxicating Harry.

          "Even without the dinner. Besides I do have a birthday coming up you know."

          "Planning our future already Miss Weasley? March is a long way away…but I plan on sticking around a while. Who knows, you might get your wish,"

Go away vandana

Go on and do as you please

You ain't gonna see me gettin' down on my knees

I'm undecided and your heart's been divided

You've been turning my world upside down

Do me wrong,

Do me right, right now baby

Go on and tell me lies but hold me tight

Save your goodbyes for the morning light

But don't let me be lonely tonight

          She forgot all the times her brothers hadn't let her play Quiddich with them and left her at home, she forgot her first year when Ron teased her mercilessly about that silly poem she wrote, she forgot all the years pining away for a boy everyone told her she'd never have…

He forgot all the times he'd had to make breakfast for those dreadful Dursley's, he forgot being stared at every time he walked down the streets of Hogsmeade, he forgot all those years of being afraid of truly getting close to someone…

          Neither was quite able to forget the chamber and what had gone on when they were there, or the fact that Voldermort was still out there, or that Sirius would never be out there again…

I don't want to be lonely tonight

No, I don't want to be lonely tonight

But when they both looked up and saw the faerie lights reflected in the other's eyes and their lips met tenderly it somehow helped make things a little better. Ginny wished with all her heart that witches had the power to freeze time, their moment in time, forever because for a short while that's all there was; Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter – together, in their pajamas, dancing in the woods, surrounded by music and fairies and snowflakes, all blanketed beneath a sky full of a thousand stars.


End file.
